ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service

Philip Davies: To ask the Attorney-General what estimate he has made of the number of cases which were due to be committed to the Crown Court but which were not sent by magistrates' courts as a result of identifiable failings by the Crown Prosecution Service in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) records indicate that between November 2011 and October 2012, there were 59,634 committals for trial of which 1,299 (2%) were discharged by the magistrates’ court. Of these 1,299 committals, 263 (0.4%) were recorded as “CPS not ready—adjournment refused”, however, it is not recorded whether this was occasioned by an “identifiable failing” of the CPS or some other person or organisation. Such data could not be reasonably obtained locally or nationally other than by undertaking a manual exercise of reviewing individual case files which would incur a disproportionate cost. All discharged committals are reviewed locally and consideration is given to subsequently recharging of the defendant.

Crown Prosecution Service

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General how many Crown Prosecution Service staff trained as (a) barristers and (b) solicitors were available to lead prosecutions of criminal cases at London courts in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (ii) 2012-13 to date; and if he will make a statement.

Oliver Heald: The following table gives the numbers of barristers and solicitors (expressed in full-time equivalent) employed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) London. The figures are for each full financial year for the period 2010 to 2012, and for the period 1 April 2012 to 30 November 2012. The full range of cases in the magistrates and Crown Courts are prosecuted by barristers and solicitors employed by CPS London, according to their level of skill and experience.
	
		
			 Period Barristers Solicitors Total 
			 2010-11 166.4 260.7 427.1 
			 2011-12 168.5 236.8 405.3 
			 1 April 2012-30 November 2012 137.6 210.8 348.4

Crown Prosecution Service

Philip Davies: To ask the Attorney-General in what proportion of cases in magistrates' courts prosecutors for the Crown Prosecution Service have been in court without (a) the full case file and (b) any case file at all in each of the last three years.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains no central record of the number of cases in magistrates’ courts where prosecutors for the CPS have been in court without a full case file. Such data could not be reasonably obtained locally or nationally other than by undertaking a manual exercise of reviewing individual case files at a disproportionate cost.

Crown Prosecution Service

Philip Davies: To ask the Attorney-General what estimate he has made of the proportion of trials that do not take place in magistrates' courts as a result of identifiable failings by the Crown Prosecution Service; and if he will make a statement.

Oliver Heald: Although the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains no central record of the proportion of trials that do not take place in magistrates’ courts, Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service does hold data which are shared with the CPS.
	The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), as part of its regular local performance management arrangements, reviews the data along with other users of the criminal justice system, identifying trials that are cracked or ineffective for reasons associated with the prosecution to ensure that lessons are learned.
	The available data do not however identify how many of these trials do not take place because of ''identifiable failings of the CPS", as opposed to failings of any other organisation or individual or other factor. Such data could not be reasonably obtained locally or nationally other than by reviewing individual case files which would incur a disproportionate cost.

EU Law

Priti Patel: To ask the Attorney-General 
	(1)  which EU directives his Department transposed in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012 to date; which EU directives his Department expects to transpose in (i) 2013 and (ii) future years; and what estimate he has made of the cost of each such directive to the (A) public purse and (B) private sector;
	(2)  which regulations his Department introduced as a result of EU legislation in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012 to date; which regulations his Department expects to implement as a result of EU legislation in (i) 2013 and (ii) the next two years; and what estimate he has made of the cost of each such regulation to the (A) public purse and (B) private sector.

Oliver Heald: None.

LIBOR

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how much additional funding the Serious Fraud Office has received to carry out its investigation into the manipulation of LIBOR rates.

Oliver Heald: The Treasury has undertaken in principle to make additional funds available to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to cover the costs of the LIBOR investigation to the extent that they cannot be met from the SFO's existing budget. The undertaking is for up to £3.5 million for each of the next three years to be available. The SFO has not yet received any of this additional funding but will be finalising requirements for 2012-13 as part of the supplementary estimate process.

Proceeds of Crime

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how much of its annual budget the Serious Fraud Office has spent on tracing and recovering the proceeds of crime in each of the last five years.

Oliver Heald: The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) established a dedicated Proceeds of Crime Unit in May 2009, therefore it is not possible to give details of the spend on proceeds of crime work prior to that date.
	
		
			  Proceeds of Crime Unit budget (£ million) Proportion of SFO budget (%) 
			 2009-10 1.42 3 
			 2010-11 1.39 3 
			 2011-12 1.27 4

Proceeds of Crime

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what the total value was of the proceeds of crime retained by the Crown Prosecution Service under the ARIS incentive scheme in each of the last three years; and what proportion of the annual budget this formed in each case.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service has retained the following amounts under the ARIS incentive scheme in the last three years:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2009-10 13,673,000 
			 2010-11 14,718,000 
			 2011-12 14,905,000 
		
	
	In proportion to the Crown Prosecution Service's gross resource departmental expenditure limit, these sums constitute the following percentages:
	
		
			  % 
			 2009-10 1.81 
			 2010-11 2.06 
			 2011-12 2.21

Proceeds of Crime

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what the total value was of the proceeds of crime retained by the Serious Fraud Office under the ARIS incentive scheme in each of the last three years; and what proportion of the annual budget this formed in each case.

Oliver Heald: The information requested is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Value of 'ARIS' receipts (£ million) Proportion of SFO budget (%) 
			 2009-10 2.98 6.8 
			 2010-11 3.74 9.1 
			 2011-12 6.65 18.6

Redundancy Pay

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General when his Department convened negotiations on the redundancy terms of its former Chief Executive, Phillippa Williamson, and its former Chief Operating Officer, Christian Bailes.

Oliver Heald: As the Attorney-General indicated in his written ministerial statement on 4 December 2012, Official Report, column 51WS, the former Director of the Serious Fraud Office did not advise the law officers of his intention to enter into redundancy agreements with the former chief executive or chief operating officer. The new director, David Green QC, learned of the agreements in May of this year and immediately notified the Attorney-General's office.

Serious Fraud Office

John McDonnell: To ask the Attorney-General 
	(1)  what the details were of severance payments made to outgoing Serious Fraud Office staff including fixed term contract staff, by grade, in each of the last four quarters;
	(2)  how many staff at the Serious Fraud Office on fixed term contracts that left or had their contracts terminated received a severance payment in the last four quarters; and what the total amount paid out was;
	(3)  on what date the severance payment and ex-gratia payment to the former chief executive of the Serious Fraud Office was made.

Oliver Heald: Details of all severance payments made by the Serious Fraud Office since May 2010 were published in the written ministerial statement made by the Attorney-General on 4 December 2012, Official Report, column 51WS.
	The payment for loss of office referred to in the written statement was made to an individual on a fixed term contract and was made in the second quarter of this financial year.
	As set out in the SFO's annual accounts for 2011-12, the former chief executive's redundancy costs were accrued into that financial year as the decision and agreement were both made in that financial year and her departure followed soon after it ended. The SFO made a payment of £407,245 to her My Civil Service Pension scheme on 18 May 2012 to cover all additional pension costs arising from early departure. The ex-gratia payment of £15,000 was made on 19 April 2012, and the compensation in lieu of notice of £36,360 was paid on 30 April 2012.

Serious Fraud Office

John McDonnell: To ask the Attorney-General what the details were of all bonus payments or ex-gratia payments made to senior civil servants at the Serious Fraud Office, including fixed term contract staff, in each of the last four quarters.

Oliver Heald: Four senior civil servants (SCS), including one individual working at SCS level on a fixed term contract, received bonus payments in April 2012. The total value of all the payments was £38,000. The largest payment was for £12,500.
	Two senior civil servants received ex-gratia payments in the first quarter of this financial year at a total cost of £30,000 to £35,000.

Serious Fraud Office

John McDonnell: To ask the Attorney-General how many personal assistants are allocated to senior civil servant grade staff at the Serious Fraud Office.

Oliver Heald: Five. In addition, two other individuals carry out some personal assistant responsibilities as part of their roles.

PRIME MINISTER

Senior Civil Servants

Paul Flynn: To ask the Prime Minister for what reasons he declined to accept the recommendation of the selection panel that Mr David Kennedy be appointed to the post of Permanent Secretary at the Department for Energy and Climate Change.

Michael Meacher: To ask the Prime Minister for what reasons he vetoed the appointment of Mr David Kennedy as Permanent Secretary of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

David Cameron: I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Luciana Berger), on 10 December 2012, Official Report, column 17W, and to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for South Suffolk (Mr Yeo), during my appearance at the Liaison Committee on 11 December 2012.

TRANSPORT

Driving: Licensing

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many driving licences were revoked due to problems being reported with vision in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011.

Stephen Hammond: In 2010, 4,906 car and motorcycle licences were revoked or applications refused because the applicant failed to meet the vision standards. Some 493 lorry/bus diving licence applicants were also revoked or applications refused during this period for this reason.
	In 2011, the corresponding figures were 5,285 and 685.

Driving: Licensing

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many driving licence renewal reminder letters were sent out in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011.

Stephen Hammond: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency issued 4,946,504 renewal reminders in 2010 and 5,413,677 in 2011.

Driving: Licensing

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of drivers who reported problems with vision had their driving licences revoked in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011.

Stephen Hammond: Licensing decisions take into account single and multiple medical conditions.
	In 2010, 4,940 car/motorcycle licences were revoked or refused where a visual condition was one of multiple conditions notified. 493 bus/lorry licences were revoked, and or refused. In the same period 4,895 car/motorcycle licences and 495 lorry/bus licences were revoked or refused because of a failure to meet the vision standards alone.
	In 2011, 5,271 car/motorcycle licences were revoked or refused where a visual condition was one of multiple conditions notified. 662 bus/lorry licences were revoked, and or refused. In the same period 5,250 car/motorcycle licences and 658 lorry/bus licences were revoked or refused because of a failure to meet the vision standards alone.

Driving: Licensing

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average time taken between report and revocation was for drivers reporting a problem with their vision who had their driving licences revoked in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011.

Stephen Hammond: The information requested is not held. However, the Secretary of State for Transport has published targets for consideration of notifications of changed medical circumstances. These are:
	(1) to complete 88% of medical applications, where sufficient medical information is provided with the initial application, within 15 days; and
	(2) to complete 85% of medical applications, where further information is required, within 90 days.

Pay

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was paid in (a) year end and (b) in-year bonuses to officials in his Department in each of the last two years.

Norman Baker: The amount paid in (a) year end and (b) in year non-consolidated performance payments to officials in the Department for Transport and its executive agencies in each of the last two years is shown in the table below.
	
		
			  2010/11 2011/12 
			 In Year payments £219,778 £275,958 
			 End Year payments £10,385,288 £10,976,402 
		
	
	The figures for 2009/10 are also provided, by way of comparison:
	2009/10
	£360,444;
	£10,887,973.
	The amount of bonus paid in 2011/12 has increased because DSA paid their group incentive scheme bonus for the first time in 3 years.

Severn River Crossing

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which body is responsible for (a) the maintenance and (b) assessing the maintenance requirements of the Severn river crossings.

Stephen Hammond: The Severn crossings are run by a private concessionaire, Severn River Crossings plc (SRC). During the current concession period the private concessionaire is responsible for the maintenance of the crossings in accordance with the concession agreement.

Transport

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the level of identifiable expenditure per head on transport in (a) the north- west, (b) England and (c) the UK in each of the next three years.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport has not made any estimate of the likely level of expenditure in these regions for future years. While we have an overall estimate of the Department's expenditure in each year up to 2014/15, it is not allocated on a regional basis for future years because this is dependent individual spending decisions.
	The overall budget is published in the Departments Business Plan which is updated annually and can be found at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/3367/dft-2012-business-plan.pdf
	In addition, the Autumn Statement 2012 announced a further £1 billion of capital within the spending review period. The North West will benefit from a proportion of the £333 million for highways maintenance and can also put forward proposals for the £170 million local pinchpoint fund.
	As announced by the Chancellor in the Autumn Statement, funding allocations for 2015/16 will be announced in the Spending Round in the first half of next year.

Transport: Standards

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the amount lost by UK businesses as a result of (a) road traffic delays, (b) train delays and (c) airport delays in each of the last 10 years; and what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on steps to address the cost to business of transport delays.

Norman Baker: The 2006 Eddington Study estimated that in 2003 the direct cost to businesses in England from lost time caused by road congestion was £7 billion in 2002 prices, equivalent to around £9 billion in 2012 prices (page 34).
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/strategy/transportstrategy/eddingtonstudy/researchannexes/researchannexesvolume3/transportdemand.pdf
	There have not been any estimates of the specific cost to business for national airport delays. However, in December 2008, the Civil Aviation Authority published a report on runway resilience and delay. It found (page 22) that in 2007 delay at Heathrow cost £433 million. Around 42% represented a direct cost to airlines. Around half of the total cost was a cost to passengers, including business passengers, in the form of lost time.
	http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/589/ICF_runway_resilience_final_report_16Feb09.pdf
	There have not been any estimates of the specific cost to business for national rail delays.
	The Secretary of State has regular discussions with a range of interested parties, including Ministerial colleagues, on what steps the Government might take to address delays across all modes of transport.

HEALTH

Asthma: Drugs

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the cost of drugs such as the Omalizumab form of Xolair; and what steps his Department has taken to ensure this treatment will remain available.

Norman Lamb: We have received a small number of representations from hon. Members and members of the public about the availability of Omalizumab (Xolair) since 1 January 2012.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently reviewing its existing technology appraisal guidance on the use of Omalizumab in the treatment of severe persistent allergic asthma in children aged six and over and adults. NICE issued an initial draft of its revised guidance for consultation on 9 November 2012 which does not recommend the drug for use on the national health service. Until NICE publishes its final revised guidance, its current guidance on Omalizumab, which recommends the drug's use in certain circumstances, stands.

Cancer

Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in each strategic health authority area have received treatment through the Cancer Drugs Fund to date.

Norman Lamb: Information on the number of patients who have had cancer drugs funded by strategic health authorities under the interim cancer drugs funding arrangements in 2010-11 (from October 2010 to the end of March 2011) and under the Cancer Drugs Fund (from April 2011 to the end of October 2012) is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Strategic health authority Number of patients funded 2010-11(1) Number of patients funded in 2011-12 Number of patients funded from April 2012 to end October 2012 Total number of patients funded since October 2010(1) 
			 North East 420 696 252 1,368 
			 North West 266 1,044 2,307 3,617 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 178 809 977 1,964 
			 East Midlands 178 871 459 1,508 
		
	
	
		
			 West Midlands 292 1,658 957 2,907 
			 East of England 246 1,486 1,297 3,029 
			 London 443 1,364 1,010 2,817 
			 South East Coast 306 1,241 788 2,335 
			 South Central 290 1,170 1,753 3,213 
			 South West 161 1,459 1,528 3,148 
			 Total 2,780 11,798 11,328 25,906 
			 (1) Some individual patients may be double-counted where a patient has received more than one drug treatment through the Cancer Drugs Fund.

Diabetes

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that care commissioning groups and local authorities are able to record and collect accurate data on the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in their local area.

Anna Soubry: Public Health England will as of 1 April 2013, assume responsibility for all public health observatories in England. Yorkshire and Humber Public Health Observatory will continue to lead on diabetes and has published a diabetes prevalence model, which can be accessed by all local authorities in England.
	Data on incidence of Type 2 diabetes are collected by the National Diabetes Audit and via the Quality and Outcomes Framework and published annually.

Diabetes

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Quality Standard for Diabetes, whether any assessment has been made of the proportion of men with Type 2 diabetes who have been asked about sexual dysfunction in their annual assessment; and what steps he is taking to ensure compliance with the standard in this regard.

Anna Soubry: Erectile dysfunction is covered in the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Clinical Guidelines for Type 2 diabetes. In this guideline it is recommended that health care professionals review the issue of erectile dysfunction annually and that they provide assessment and education for men with erectile dysfunction to address contributory factors and discuss treatment options.
	Currently data are not collected on the incidence of erectile dysfunction in Type 2 diabetics or the compliance of health care professionals with the clinical guideline. However, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recently consulted on two potential new indicators for diabetes which would collect this data, and they are currently being considered for inclusion in the 2013-14 Quality and Outcomes Framework.

General Practitioners: Greater London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints he has received on waiting times to see a GP in each primary care trust area in London in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost to the Department.

Heart Diseases

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how he plans to promote shared decision making for people with atrial fibrillation; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: As part of the Right Care programme of work on shared decision making, the Department has commissioned the development of a Patient Decision Aid on stroke prevention for atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter. It is expected to be made available in early 2013.

Heart Diseases

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that care commissioning groups and local authorities are able to record and collect accurate data on the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in their local area.

Anna Soubry: The Government's mandate to the NHS commissioning board includes an objective to reduce premature mortality, including from cardiovascular disease. The NHS outcomes framework will be used to measure progress. It is for the NHS commissioning board to make decisions on how it will hold clinical commissioning groups to account for their performance and it will be publishing details on its proposed approach in due course.
	Local authorities (LAs) will wish to understand how cardiovascular disease affects their local population to support their prevention and early diagnosis activities. It will be for LAs to decide, in collaboration with their local health community, what is the best information to use to achieve this.

NHS: Drugs

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department takes to ensure value for money in the purchasing of drugs by the NHS.

Norman Lamb: There are a number of systems in place to ensure, in the main, that the national health service obtains the best value from the purchasing of medicines. These include:
	the reimbursement arrangements for the majority of medicines dispensed in primary care, which create an incentive for dispensing contractors to procure medicines in a manner that is cost-effective for the NHS; and the 2009 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS), which controls the price of branded medicines supplied to the NHS through the regulation of profits that companies can make on sales;
	the competitive tendering for selected medicines by the Department's Commercial Medicines Unit on behalf of NHS secondary care providers in England. Generic products (the minority of products by value, but the greater part by volume) are tendered through a national programme. The majority of patent-protected products covered by the PPRS (the minority of products by volume, but the greater part by value) are tendered at a regional level which allows for aggregation of spend to achieve value for money, reduce replication and assure a quality supply chain through to the patient.

Norovirus

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to cope with the recent increase in cases of norovirus.

Anna Soubry: “Guidelines for the management of norovirus outbreaks in acute and community health and social care settings” were published by the Health Protection Agency in November 2011. The guidance emphasises the importance of including outbreaks of norovirus as part of winter preparedness planning.
	A copy of the guidelines has been placed in the Library and is available at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1317131647275

Phenytoin

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the increase in the cost of the drug phenytoin.

Norman Lamb: We have received a number of representations from hon. Members, representative groups, colleagues in the national health service and the manufacturer about the recent increase in the price of phenytoin capsules, following the acquisition of the marketing authorisation by Flynn Pharma Ltd from Pfizer and the effects on NHS budgets.

South London Healthcare NHS Trust

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the cost to the trust special administrator for South London Healthcare (a) is to date and (b) will be upon completion of his work;
	(2)  what consultants and outside contractors are supporting the work of trust special administrators; on which strands of work such consultants and outside contractors are engaged; and how much such consultants and outside contractors have cost to date.

Anna Soubry: Expenditure for this administration is expected to be small compared to the cost savings and service quality improvements that are expected to follow in the future. At the time this administration was enacted in July, South London Healthcare NHS Trust (SLHT) was spending around £1 million per week more than it had. This means that vital resources are being diverted away from other parts of the national health service. The size of the financial challenge is significant. In 2011-12, SLHT incurred the largest financial deficit across all NHS providers nationally, at over £65 million. Since its formation in 2009, the trust has generated a total financial deficit of £154 million and is forecast to have an accumulated deficit of £207 million by the end of March 2013.
	To date, the budget that has been agreed by the Department for the Trust Special Administrator (TSA) to operate the unsustainable NHS providers regime at SLHT is £4 million. An additional £1 million has recently been agreed. The total budget comprises:
	£1 million paid to fund the office of the TSA, including personnel to support the TSA on communications and engagement, strategy and clinical leadership;
	£3 million for consultancy spend, of which £2 million has been paid to McKinsey as lead-contractor, with Deloitte and PA Consulting Group as sub-contractors. They are engaged in detailed strategic, financial and programme management support work for the TSA; and
	£1 million set aside for contingency purposes.

Thalidomide

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what progress the Government have made on their determination on whether to extend the health grant to thalidomide survivors into a long-term grant;
	(2)  what recent discussions (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have had with representatives of the Thalidomide Trust on the potential extension of the health grant made to thalidomide survivors.

Norman Lamb: I met with the hon. Member for Elmet and Rothwell (Alec Shelbrooke), chair of the all party parliamentary group, along with members of the Thalidomide Trust and the National Advisory Council, on 6 November. I have subsequently written to the trust updating them on our progress.
	An announcement on future funding for thalidomide survivors will be made shortly.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he proposes that the cost of any UK military presence in Afghanistan post 2014 should be met by the Treasury Reserve or by his Department's core budget.

Andrew Robathan: The MOD expects that the net additional costs of military operations will continue to be met by the Treasury Reserve.

BAE Systems

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of BAE Systems's quality assurance procedures for equipment purchased by the Royal Navy.

Philip Dunne: In procuring equipment for the Royal Navy, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) mandates a series of defence standards, both for the quality management systems employed by industry and for product quality. Robust processes are built into procurement contracts, covering both design and build to ensure that industry meets the MOD's exacting quality standards. This includes the internationally recognised standard ISO 9001, to which BAE Systems is registered and certified. The MOD monitors contractors' performance against those standards through a comprehensive system of surveillance, including intervention where necessary. Individual project teams are supported in their surveillance activities by the Defence Quality Assurance Field Force.

Challenger Tanks

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost will be of the Life Extension Programme for the Challenger 2 Tank.

Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 October 2012, Official Report, column 807W.

Devolution

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what responsibilities the Minister for the Armed Forces has for liaison with the devolved Administrations.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 10 December 2012
	Defence is a reserved matter and the Secretary of State for Scotland is responsible for representing the interests of Scotland within the UK Government. However, all Defence Ministers liaise with the devolved Administrations on issues that require their support, such as the delivery of the military covenant.

HMS Astute

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of corrosion and flooding on HMS Astute.

Philip Dunne: All Royal Navy submarines undergo extensive preservation work during build to ensure that the risk of corrosion is minimised. After this has been completed each submarine is subject to a continuous, thorough corrosion assessment through its life. Some limited corrosion was found on certain areas on HMS Astute, but action is being taken to resolve this; neither the safety nor the operational effectiveness of the submarine has been or will be compromised.
	Protection against flooding is paramount on submarines, and is a priority during all stages of design and build. All Royal Navy submarines are required to hold a Naval Authority certificate for submarine watertight integrity. Certification signifies that the Ministry of Defence's Naval Authority considers that all foreseeable watertight integrity hazards have been identified and mitigated to levels that are as low as reasonably practicable and either broadly acceptable or tolerable, given any operating limitations or restrictions.
	HMS Astute, like all Royal Navy submarines, has been designed so that the risk of flooding is minimised, and that, in the event of any flooding occurring, the crew is able to take action to mitigate its impact. HMS Astute has been issued with a full Naval Authority certificate for submarine watertight integrity.

HMS Astute

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the suitability of the pressurised water reactor 2's ability to power HMS Astute to its top speed.

Philip Dunne: Pressurised water reactor 2 is fully able to power HMS Astute, and all other Astute class submarines, at their designed top speed.

HMS Astute

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what correspondence he has had with BAE Systems on the faults found in sea trials for HMS Astute; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: Ministry of Defence officials work closely with personnel from BAE Systems Maritime-Submarines on all aspects of sea trials for HMS Astute. This includes correspondence on a range of issues, including on the identification and rectification of faults and other problems that arise as is particularly to be expected with a first of class submarine, these being the main purpose for conducting sea trials.

Joint Exercises

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what type of training took place during Exercise Prairie Thunder; what the cost was of that exercise; and how many personnel from (a) the US, (b) the UK and (c) Canada participated in the exercise.

Andrew Robathan: Exercise Prairie Thunder is a 28-day exercise comprising live firing and tactical simulation across 2,700 square kilometres of Canadian prairie. Each exercise trains up to 1,800 personnel at a cost of £32.4 million. Four Prairie Thunder exercises are run each year.
	The current training year has seen the participation of 25 US personnel on Prairie Thunder 3, and approximately 100 Canadian Forces personnel on Prairie Thunder 4. The remaining personnel trained have all been UK forces.
	The involvement of both US and Canadian troops on Exercise Prairie Thunder is seen as particularly beneficial, allowing all nations to exercise in a multi-national environment. The inclusion of Canadian troops on Exercise Prairie Thunder is part of a reciprocal agreement in which the UK sends a light role company on Exercise Maple Lion (A Canadian Army exercise). The US inclusion meant that US helicopters were used as an integral part of a challenging exercise for which they did not charge for flying hours. In return, the UK provided fuel, food and accommodation.

Libya

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which costs of Operation Ellamy were met from the Treasury Reserve and which were met from the core budget of his Department.

Andrew Robathan: The Treasury Reserve bears all those costs incurred by the Department which would not otherwise have been incurred. This includes: costs of additional fuel and munitions; extra maintenance requirements; spares; the deployment and recovery of equipment and personnel from theatre including accommodation; operational allowances and theatre-specific training.
	The Ministry of Defence (MOD)'s core budget meets the costs of the base salaries of the service personnel and civilians involved in the operation; a base level of equipment usage, such as that which occurs during standard training; and the procurement costs of equipment which will stay with the MOD after the operation. The MOD does not calculate these costs for individual operations.

Military Alliances

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with which countries the UK has bilateral defence (a) agreements and (b) treaties; and if he will publish each such agreement and treaty.

Andrew Murrison: The UK has signed, completed and ratified when necessary, bilateral defence agreements and treaties with the following countries:
	Argentina
	Bahamas
	Belgium
	Botswana
	Brazil
	Brunei
	Canada
	Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
	Cyprus
	France
	Germany
	Guyana
	India
	Iraq
	Kenya
	Republic of Korea
	Malaysia
	Malta
	Mauritius
	The Netherlands
	New Zealand
	Nigeria
	Norway
	Poland
	Singapore
	South Africa
	Spain
	Sweden
	Tonga
	“Transjordan” (Jordan)
	Ukraine
	United States of America
	USSR (Russia)
	Yugoslavia
	No formal distinction is made between treaties and agreements, which are both regarded as legally binding under international law. Not all defence treaties with the countries listed remain in force. This list also excludes those countries with which the UK has signed defence agreements and treaties that have not completed formal ratification and are therefore not yet in force.
	Bilateral defence treaties signed since world war two that were subject to formal ratification have been laid before Parliament under the Ponsonby Rule, and since 2010, in accordance with the provisions of part 2 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. Records of all treaties and formal agreements signed by the United Kingdom are retained by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and original signed treaties binding on the United Kingdom are held in the National Archives.

Military Alliances

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with which countries the UK has a memorandum of understanding; and if he will publish each such memorandum.

Andrew Murrison: The UK has signed defence memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with the following countries:
	Afghanistan
	Albania
	Algeria
	Argentina
	Armenia
	Australia
	Austria
	Azerbaijan
	Bahrain
	Bangladesh
	Belarus
	Belgium
	Belize
	Bermuda
	Bosnia and Herzegovina
	Botswana
	Brazil
	Brunei
	Bulgaria
	Canada
	Cape Verde Islands
	Chile
	China
	Colombia
	Croatia
	Curacao
	Cyprus
	Czech Republic
	Denmark
	Ecuador
	Egypt
	Estonia
	Falkland Islands
	Fiji
	Finland
	France
	Georgia
	Germany
	Ghana
	Greece
	Hungary
	Iceland
	India
	Indonesia
	Iraq
	Ireland
	Israel
	Italy
	Jamaica
	Japan
	Jordan
	Kazakhstan
	Kenya
	Kosovo
	Kuwait
	Kyrgyzstan
	Latvia
	Lebanon
	Libya
	Liechtenstein
	Lithuania
	Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)
	Malawi
	Malaysia
	Mali
	Mauritania
	Moldova
	Mongolia
	Morocco
	Mozambique
	Namibia
	Nepal
	The Netherlands
	New Zealand
	Nigeria
	Norway
	Oman
	Pakistan
	Palestine
	Peru
	Philippines
	Poland
	Portugal
	Qatar
	Republic of Congo
	Republic of Korea
	Romania
	Russia
	Rwanda
	Saudi Arabia
	Senegal
	Serbia
	Siena Leone
	Singapore
	Slovakia
	Slovenia
	South Africa
	Spain
	Sri Lanka
	Sweden
	Switzerland
	Tajikistan
	Thailand
	The Gambia
	Tonga
	Turkey
	Turkmenistan
	Uganda
	Ukraine
	United Arab Emirates
	United States of America
	Uzbekistan
	Vietnam.
	These memoranda cover a wide range of defence co-operation activities. Not all MOUs with listed countries are currently in effect.
	I am withholding copies of each MOU as their disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and other states.

Military Attachés

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which countries the UK has a defence attaché.

Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence has defence attachés and advisers currently in 72 countries—these are:
	Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria Hub (covering Croatia, Hungary, Kosovo, Slovenia, Slovakia and Switzerland), Bahrain, Baltic States (Estonia), Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland (non-resident, accredited from London), Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Macedonia, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal (non-resident, accredited from London), Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia (based in Kenya), South Africa, South Sudan, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States of America (with a further attaché to the UK Mission to UN New York), Uzbekistan, Yemen and Zimbabwe.
	Between them, the attachés and advisers provide a further 84 countries with defence attaché or adviser services via the process of non-resident accreditation (NRA). The NRA countries are:
	Albania, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Austrian hub, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cape Verdi Islands, Cayman Islands, Congo, Cuba, Curacao, Dili, Djibouti, Dominica, East Timor, Eritrea, Fiji, Finland, Gabon, Grenada, Guinea, Guyana, Iceland, Ivory Coast, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Mozambique, Puerto Rico, Namibia, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Rwanda, Seychelles, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, The Gambia, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam and Zambia.

Paper

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what amount was spent by his Department on copier paper in each of the last three years; and what assessment he has made of the value for money obtained by his Department when purchasing copier paper.

Philip Dunne: Since 1 October 2011, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has met its requirements for paper through a Central Government Office Supplies Contract (GOSC) managed by HM Revenue and Customs. Data for years 2009-10 and 2010-11 are no longer held by the MOD. Under the GOSC, from 1 October 2011 to 30 September 2012, the latest period for which data are available, MOD expenditure on paper was £2.78 million, excluding VAT. Use of the GOSC is mandated across all central Government Departments and the expectation is that over time the economies of scale afforded by this centralised arrangement will offer better value for money than previous MOD specific contractual arrangements.

Porton Down: Animal Experiments

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many project licences granted under the provisions of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 have been granted for procedures currently being carried out at the Porton Down facility; and what the severity level for each project is.

Philip Dunne: At the present time, there are a total of 21 active project licences in operation at Dstl Porton Down. The overall severity band for these licences varies according to the nature of the work, but can be summarised as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 Unclassified 4 
			 Mild 3 
			 Moderate 6 
			 Substantial 8 
		
	
	Dstl operates in strict accordance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act. All the research projects that involve animals are licensed by the Home Office. As part of the licensing process, the researchers have to convince the Home Office that the work is required, that the results cannot be obtained without the use of animals, and that every step has been taken to minimise pain and suffering to the animals involved.
	The Home Office, its inspectors and its independent Animal Procedures Committee (APC) make both announced and unannounced visits several times a year to ensure compliance with these guidelines. The MOD's Animal Welfare Advisory Council (AWAC) was dissolved as it duplicated this work.

USA

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent on foreign military sales contracts procured by the British defence staff in the US in each of the last five years.

Philip Dunne: Foreign military sales (FMS) is the process for foreign Governments and international organisations to purchase military articles and services from the US Government. The total value of committed funds under FMS during the past five years is $3,510,397,215. The yearly breakdown is as follows:
	
		
			  Total cost (US Dollars) 
			 2007 334,104,516 
			 2008 949,564,775 
			 2009 183,602,390 
			 2010 1,189,515,596 
			 2011 487,114,494 
			 2012 366,495,444 
			 Grand total 3,510,397,215

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child: Protection

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the household benefit cap on child protection.

Esther McVey: The Department does not collect the information on which households are subject to a child protection order so we cannot identify how many households would be subject to a benefit cap.
	Under the Children Act 1989, each local authority has a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in need in its area. The benefit cap will have a number of impacts on local authorities but it will not change in any way their responsibilities for child protection, including their duty to keep close track of children at risk.

Crisis Loans: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many crisis loans were awarded in Scotland in each of the last five years; for what purposes such loans were given; and what the total monetary value was in each such year.

Steve Webb: Table 1 gives the number of crisis loans awarded by application reason in Scotland in each of the last five full accounting years (2007-08 to 2011-12) and the current accounting year to date (April 2012 to November 2012).
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of crisis loan initial awards in Scotland by application reason, 2007-08 to 2011-12 and April to November 2012 
			 Application reason 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2011-12 YTD 
			 Leaving care—not entitled to IS/JSA (IB) 3,670 3,590 2,490 1,160 620 280 
			 Leaving care—rent in advance 80 120 90 70 60 30 
			 Disaster, e.g. fire, flood, explosion, chemical leaks etc. 1,990 2,420 3,540 2,260 1,160 420 
			 Emergency travelling expenses 160 140 670 240 310 140 
		
	
	
		
			 Lost or stolen money/giro 28,370 33,980 45,580 34,100 31,600 15,330 
			 Alignment (period before first payday) 117,880 123,350 153,800 143,330 122,810 75,450 
			 Capital not realisable 13,050 20,600 39,780 33,600 23,390 14,050 
			 Reconnection of fuel supply 680 790 590 250 160 110 
			 Homeless—securing accommodation 250 310 390 520 320 230 
			 Benefit spent—living expenses required 49,920 61,390 108,670 94,330 84,340 47,540 
			 Items, JSA sanctions and JSA disallowances 22,900 23,850 33,760 34,410 6,660 2,370 
			 Total 238,900 270,500 389,400 344,300 271,400 155,900 
			 Source: Department for Work and Pensions Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information. 
		
	
	Table 2 contains figures on gross crisis loan expenditure for Scotland by application reason for the same periods as Table 1.
	
		
			 Table 2: Crisis loan gross expenditure in Scotland by application reason, 2007-08 to 2011-12, and April to November 2012 
			 £ 
			 Application reason 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2011-12 YTD 
			 Leaving care—not entitled to IS/JSA (IB) 114,290 118,420 149,650 76,510 37,390 15,740 
			 Leaving care—rent in advance 3,300 4,580 7,420 10,290 9,780 4,040 
			 Disaster, e.g. fire, flood, explosion, chemical leaks etc. 98,590 118,240 211,190 132,750 62,420 25,730 
			 Emergency travelling expenses 6,200 6,350 29,230 16,640 13,340 7,760 
			 Lost or stolen money/giro 1,778,380 2,115,050 2,792,760 2,255,610 1,923,540 914,790 
			 Alignment (period before first payday) 6,834,420 7,275,260 9,981,690 9,532,240 7,556,760 . 4,339,260 
			 Capital not realisable 670,160 1,037,900 2,179,120 1,930,540 1,283,970 787,420 
			 Reconnection of fuel supply 24,660 29,270 30,390 18,270 10,750 5,980 
			 Homeless—securing accommodation 44,930 56,440 130,690 224,220 131,200 121,680 
			 Benefit spent—living expenses required 2,423,420 3,080,060 5,321,050 4,850,450 3,983,880 2,281,870 
			 Items, JSA sanctions and JSA disallowances 6,735,660 7,541,600 10,367,800 9,915,600 1,118,100 289,400 
			 Total 18,734,000 21,383,200 31,201,000 28,963,100 16,131,200 8,793,700 
			 Notes: 1. The information provided is management information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official / National Statistics but in this case we only have Management Information available from the Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System (PBMIS). It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official / National statistics and there are some issues with the data; for example, these amounts do not include expenditure on applications which were processed clerically and have not yet been entered on to the social fund computer system. 2. All initial awards are rounded to nearest 10. 3. The initial awards figures do not include awards made on review or reconsideration. 4. All gross expenditure is rounded to the nearest £100. 5. Figures may not sum due to rounding. 6. The gross expenditure figures do include expenditure from awards made on review or reconsideration. The gross expenditure for each category should not be divided by the number of awards in each category, as this will give incorrect figures on average awards for each application reason. Source: Department for Work and Pensions Social Fund Policy, budget and management information.

Departmental Responsibilities

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what contribution his Department is making to the Government's ambition of Britain being the most open, transparent country in the world.

Steve Webb: The Department is committed to transparency and published its Open Data Strategy in June alongside details of the new transparency measures it will deliver over the next two years. DWP has also updated and significantly expanded its transparency website. See:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/about-dwp/what-we-do/transparency/
	In November the Department launched new on-line software called Stat-Xplore using housing benefit data. This will allow the citizen to create their own statistical tabulations based on the Department's rich sources of customer data. It provides more data at a more granular level with enhanced visualisation. Claimants' privacy will be protected by sophisticated disclosure control mechanisms. It will cover most existing benefits and pensions and over time will include statistics on universal credit and personal independence payments. See:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool
	The Demographics User Group, which represents the interests of a range of commercial users of Government datasets in the UK, recently presented its annual award for ‘Better information in Government’ to the Department. See the related press release at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2012/oct-2012/dwp105-12.shtml

Employment Schemes

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the technical operation of the Universal Jobmatch website launched in November 2012.

Mark Hoban: Monster Worldwide Ltd, a market leader in the recruitment sector, was appointed to manage the delivery of Universal Jobmatch to the DWP, bringing proven practices and technologies, and procuring existing recruitment solutions rather than utilising existing DWP IT suppliers and contracts. The procurement was via OJEU and, as such, was open to fair and even competition using a selection process which focused on the bidders’ technical capabilities.
	The Department has undertaken appropriate testing of the online job posting and matching service, Universal Jobmatch, including: user acceptance testing; accessibility testing; customer experience reviews; and field acceptance tests.
	Monster Worldwide Ltd, the supplier appointed to manage the delivery of Universal Jobmatch to the DWP, continues to undertake code reviews to ensure it meets, and continues to meet, the Department's security requirements.
	The service is actively managed through contractual arrangements between the Department and our suppliers.
	DWP have ensured that departmental IT can operate and interact effectively with the Universal Jobmatch solution and that the financial benefits of moving from a complex, multi-system platform to a managed service solution can be realised. All critical departmental IT systems and services impacted by Universal Jobmatch have been fully tested according to existing DWP enterprise test practices.

Employment: Disability

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of disabled people in employment in (a) Brighton and Hove and (b) nationally; what assessment he has made of whether disabled people in work face extra costs (i) in the home as a result of being in employment and (ii) in and to do with the workplace above those covered by the Access to Work scheme; if he will make it his policy to provide support for working disabled people who are found to be fully fit for work but who are at a disadvantage in the workplace as a result of impairments or health conditions; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: Latest figures from the Annual Population Survey (July 2011 to June 2012) show that there are 13,000 disabled people in employment in the Brighton and Hove local authority and 3,072,600 disabled individuals in employment nationally.
	We know that disabled people can face extra costs in work, whether they are working from home or going out to work. These extra costs could include specialist aids and equipment or help travelling to work. Employers have a duty under the Equality Act to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees. Access to Work provides individuals and their employers with support with the extra costs that are over and above that which is a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act and there is no upper limit to the value of support that Access to Work can provide.
	We are committed to ensuring that all disabled people have the opportunities, chances and support that they need to get a job and remain in employment and there is a range of provision to help them, including Access to Work, Work Choice and residential training colleges. In addition, Jobcentre Plus Disability Employment Advisers can provide support and advice for disabled people who need help finding and retaining employment. They can refer individuals to specialist programmes, advocate with employers on the individual's behalf, and help employers to explore job solutions such as the restructuring of a job's tasks/environment or the provision/change of equipment.

Employment: Discrimination

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the current extent of racial discrimination in the UK labour market; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: No assessment has been made. We have flexible employment support to ensure that individuals get the support they need to find work, and legislation to protect people from discrimination at recruitment and in employment.

Farms: Accidents

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many accidents have been recorded on farms in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The Health and Safety Executive holds details of injuries to workers (employees and the self-employed) and members of the public on farms reported to it under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR).
	The data for fatal injuries are regarded as reliable but the data for non-fatal injuries (major injuries and injuries causing over three days incapacitation) are subject to significant under-reporting by the farming sector and should be treated with caution.
	Details of the number of work-related injuries to workers and members of the public in agriculture (which includes crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities) in Great Britain reported to HSE in each of the last three years are set out in the following table:
	
		
			 RIDDOR reported work related injuries in agriculture over the last three years 
			  Workers(1) Members of the public 
			  Severity of injury Severity of injury 
			  Fatal Non-fatal major Over- 3-day All reported injuries Fatal Non-fatal All reported injuries 
			 2011-12(2) 27 356 534 917 6 85 91 
			 2010-11 30 374 516 893 7 56 63 
			 2009-10 35 459 615 1,109 5 69 74 
			 (1) The category “Worker” includes employees and the self-employed. (2) The data for 2011-12 are treated as provisional until April 2013. Notes: 1. Over-three-day injuries to members of the public are not reportable under RiDDOR. 2. Figure for Great Britain includes England, Scotland and Wales.

Farms: Safety

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how health and safety guidance is communicated to farms; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) publishes a wide range of health and safety guidance on managing risks in agriculture to farms. The guidance aims to help farmers understand what they have to do to comply with the law and is communicated through a number of media including:
	Hard copy publications and topic based information sheets (priced and unpriced)
	The agriculture pages on the HSE website
	An agriculture specific e-Bulletin published every two months. It has over 14,000 subscribers and gives topical/seasonal health and safety advice to farmers
	An annual programme of Safety and Health Awareness Days for farmers which provide practical demonstrations on how to manage everyday risks on farms to targeted, invited audiences. Each event can reach 300 farmers
	Attendance at a number of technical shows
	Visual media such as topic based DVDs/VCRs etc.
	National, regional and local TV and radio, including BBC TV's Countryfile and Radio 4's Farming Today; and
	National, local and trade press including Farmers Weekly and Farmers Guardian.
	HSE also supports stakeholders in developing advice and guidance on managing health and safety in agriculture which it distributes to members. Industry stakeholders include representative organisations, trade associations and bodies and the trade unions; some of whom are members of the industry-led Industry Safety Partnerships in England and Wales. The guidance is generally topic based and is available to members and others in hard copy form and on their respective websites, and includes targeted literature, health and safety related articles in the trade press and training events for members.

Food Banks: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been referred to food banks by job centre staff in Scotland in 2012 to date.

Mark Hoban: DWP, through Jobcentre Plus, operates a food bank referral service. This is a simple signposting process which builds on the Jobcentre Plus standard practice of holding, locally, the details of organisations to which we signpost claimants who tell us they are in financial difficulty. Jobcentre Plus will only signpost claimants when it can offer no more help.
	DWP/Jobcentre Plus do not collate or hold numbers of food bank referrals or the reasons why individuals are referred. Jobcentre Plus is not the only routeway for individuals to get referred to a foodbank.

Housing Benefit

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of in-work families affected by the uprating of the applicable amount for housing benefit by one per cent and the resulting savings to the Exchequer, for each of the next four years.

Steve Webb: Assessments of impacts will accompany the uprating order for 2013 and the forthcoming Uprating Bill.

ICT: Theft

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) computers, (b) mobile telephones, (c) BlackBerrys and (d) other pieces of IT equipment were lost or stolen from his Department in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The information that is available is provided in the following table. Details provided in respect of 2012 cover the year up to the beginning of November 2012.
	
		
			  (a) Computers (b) Mobile telephones (c) BlackBerry devices (d) Other items 
			 2010 46 30 20 20 
			 2011 56 25 6 10 
			 2012 17 20 8 3 
		
	
	The Department requires all portable computer media to be encrypted, so as to protect the data contained on that media.
	Where theft is involved, necessary investigations are conducted, involving the police as appropriate.
	The Department takes its statutory responsibilities to protect data and assets extremely seriously; however the above figures need to be viewed in the context of the number of computer users.

Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether individuals in receipt of income from mortgage payment protection policies are eligible to claim support for mortgage interest.

Mark Hoban: Yes. People in receipt of income from mortgage payment protection policies can claim support for mortgage interest as part of income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, income-related employment and support allowance or pension credit. However, there are rules that govern the treatment of income from such policies in these income-related benefits. Generally all income is taken into account when assessing an income-related benefit unless certain disregards apply.
	Where income from mortgage payment protection policies is used to pay a homeowner's mortgage liabilities it would be inappropriate for those same housing cost liabilities to be met through state benefits as this would amount to double provision. The benefit rules ensure that public and private provision does not overlap and that tax payers are not subsidising housing cost liabilities which are being met by other means.

New Enterprise Allowance: Greater Manchester

David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Bury North constituency and (b) Greater Manchester are in receipt of enterprise allowance.

Mark Hoban: We have published data on the number of new enterprise allowance (NEA) mentor starts and weekly allowance starts by local authority area which can be found at:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/adhoc_analysis/2012/Table_1_NEA_starts_by_Local_Authority.xls
	The table shows that in Bury there were 60 mentor starts and 30 weekly allowance starts for the period April 2011 up to and including May 2012. In Manchester, there were 190 mentor starts and 100 weekly allowance starts over the same period.

Parking

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what contracts for providing car park management services to his Department are held by private companies;
	(2)  what the total value is of contracts between his Department and private companies for car park management services in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) South Lanarkshire local authority area.

Mark Hoban: The Department leases back fully serviced accommodation for most of its estate from its private sector partner Telereal Trillium under a private finance initiative (PFI) known as the PRIME Contract. For each site, the Department pays a unitary charge known as the facility price, which is all-inclusive of rent, business rates, and all services provided. This charge would also include the control, security and management of any car parking facilities that are connected with each site.
	As the facilities price is a holistic charging mechanism, it is not possible to break the costs down into individual elements for each service provided.

Pension, Disability and Carers Service

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many calls made to the Pension Service in the east of England (a) met an engaged tone, (b) were received and (c) were handled by an adviser in each of the last three years, by call centre; and what area within the east of England is served by each such call centre.

Mark Hoban: Figures for east of England cannot be provided in isolation, as each pension centre receives calls from different areas of the United Kingdom. The Pensions Service does not record the geographic location of individual calls made to its centres.

Personal Independence Payments

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how long is the average period in days between an initial application for a personal independence payment and the determination of an appeal against refusal of that application, by region.

Esther McVey: Personal independence payment will be introduced from April 2013. At present there are no estimates of the duration from an initial application for personal independence payment to the outcome of an appeal.
	Once personal independence payment is introduced the programme will be monitoring and evaluating any appeal activity and the clearance times.

Redundancy: Disability

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the written ministerial statement by the Minister for Disabled People of 6 December 2012, Official Report, columns 84-6WS, on disability employment, 
	(1)  what support will be given to disabled people who face compulsory redundancy;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to ensure the 682 disabled people who are at risk of compulsory redundancy can find employment;
	(3)  how many of the 682 disabled people who are at risk of compulsory redundancy he expects to find new employment through Government programmes;
	(4)  what steps his Department is taking to support disabled people into work.

Esther McVey: Disabled Remploy employees who become redundant as a consequence of the decision announced by the Remploy Board on 6 December can benefit from a package of support that we have provided exclusively for them.
	£8 million has been made available to fund the delivery of a Personal Help and Support Package across Great Britain to support individuals for up to 18 months following redundancy to make the transition from working at Remploy to mainstream employment, and 148 former Remploy employees have already moved into alternative employment.
	The support available includes help from a personal case worker with one-on-one sessions, access to a personal budget and existing back-to-work support.
	We have also set up a Community Support Fund to provide grants to local disability organisations to help with that transition.
	Help with finding suitable alternative employment will also be available from Remploy's Employment Services.
	Disabled people who leave Remploy can of course be eligible for help from our existing specialist disability employment programmes, including Work Choice and Access to Work, which are also available for other groups of disabled people who need support in the workplace.
	We have recently made Access to Work available for disabled people undertaking work experience as part of the Youth Contract, which will help many young disabled people take their first significant step towards the labour market.
	We have also made Access to Work available to disabled people interested in starting their own business through the new enterprise allowance scheme in Merseyside from 3 December. Subject to effective operation in Merseyside we will roll this out nationally in the new year.
	We have started a targeted communications plan which aims to ensure that greater numbers of disabled people who could benefit from the programme know about it.
	We have protected the £320 million annual budget for our disability employment programmes and within this budget we are re-allocating £15 million to Access to Work with the sole purpose of supporting disabled people into work.

Social Security Benefits

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance he has issued to local authorities on incorrect benefit payments and application of the household benefit cap.

Mark Hoban: The detailed design and guidance will be provided to local authorities (LAs) in the new year to allow all relevant staff to be trained in time for implementation of the benefit cap. We are working closely with LAs on this.

Social Security Benefits

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for East Ham (Stephen Timms) of 29 November 2012, Official Report, column 489W, on social security benefits: Greater London, if he will prepare and publish an updated impact assessment for the household benefit cap.

Mark Hoban: There are no immediate plans to update the benefit cap impact assessment following the recent announcement to disregard housing costs for supported exempt accommodation.
	Figures approved by the Office for Budget Responsibility estimate that this change will reduce the total amount of households affected by the cap by around 2,000 to 54,000 and reduce the savings by around £10 million to £265 million. This estimate is on a consistent basis to the existing impact assessment published 16 July 2012:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/benefit-cap-wr2011-ia.pdf

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to combat (a) benefit fraud by claimants who have multiple identities and (b) other benefit fraud.

Mark Hoban: The information is as follows:
	(a) The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) takes the threat of identity fraud very seriously and, as a result, we have robust checks in place to protect the benefit system against such fraud. Instances of multiple identities are very rare; this is because an individual has to prove their identity at the start of a claim to benefit and in any ongoing contact with the Department.
	(b) Fraud in the benefit system is a serious problem, which is currently costing the taxpayer £1.9 billion a year in benefit and tax credit fraud. This is why the plans outlined in our fraud and error strategy, which was refreshed in a joint report with HMRC and the Cabinet Office in February 2012, and measures in the Welfare Reform Act are necessary and show that the Government are absolutely committed to combating the level of fraud in the benefit system.
	These plans include delivering an Integrated Risk and Intelligence Service (IRIS), a hub system for collecting and analysing claimant information and applying fraud and error prevention filters. The Department is also developing the Single Fraud Investigation Service (SFIS) with HMRC and local authorities, joining expertise and efforts in investigating fraud with pilots having started in four areas. We are also working with partners on the Mobile Regional Taskforce (MRT) pilots focusing on intelligence-led campaigns in high fraud risk areas. The Welfare Reform Act 2012 provides the Department with tougher powers to punish and deter welfare cheats. A tougher minimum administrative penalty was introduced in May 2012 and from 1 October a new civil penalty came into force for claimant error.
	With the introduction of universal credit in 2013, the benefits system will also be made simpler and, as far as possible, the opportunities for fraud to enter our systems will be greatly reduced.

Universal Credit

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the introduction of universal credit on support for families with disabled children who receive the mid-rate care component of disability living allowance; and how many families in this group of families with disabled children there are (a) in Brighton and Hove and (b) nationally.

Mark Hoban: The effect of the introduction of universal credit on families with disabled children depends on several factors. For example, households with children may benefit from the extended child care support arrangements in universal credit. Moreover, families with a blind child who currently only receive the lower of the two disabled child additions in child tax credit will receive the higher disabled child rate in universal credit.
	It is estimated that around 100,000 families receiving DLA mid-rate care for a child will be impacted by universal credit. Statistics are not available at the local authority level.
	Transitional protection will be in place to ensure that there will be no cash losers as a direct result of the move to universal credit where circumstances remain the same.

Universal Credit

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for East Ham (Stephen Timms) of 25 October 2012, Official Report, column 1059W, on universal credit, what discussions he has had on the proposal to introduce a third rate of disability addition between low and high rate; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: We have met organisations that represent disabled people to discuss universal credit and expect to continue to do so.

Universal Credit

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the benefit cap will apply for support towards housing costs for people living in supported exempt accommodation following the introduction of universal credit.

Steve Webb: The Chancellor announced in his autumn statement that housing payments for those in supported exempt accommodation will be disregarded for the purpose of the benefit cap.

Work Programme

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK who have been referred to the Work programme have found (i) employment and (ii) full-time employment.

Mark Hoban: Official Work programme statistics count sustained job outcomes only, i.e. when participants have been in work for 13 or 26 weeks. Statistics on all Work programme participants who have found employment and full-time employment are therefore not available.

Work Programme

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK who have been referred to the Work programme have found (i) part-time and (ii) full-time employment that lasted (A) less than and (B) more than six months;
	(2)  how many people in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK who have been referred to the Work programme have found employment that lasted (i) more than and (ii) less than six months.

Mark Hoban: Statistics on the number of people in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK who have been referred to the Work programme have found (A) part-time and (B) full-time employment that lasted (i) less than and (ii) more than six months are not available.

Written Questions

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to how many and what proportion of questions for written answer on a named day his Department had not provided a substantive written answer by the day named in each of the last 12 months.

Steve Webb: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			 Month Named day questions not answered substantively on the named day 
			  Number Percentage 
			 December 2011 3 3.1 
			 January 2012 4 3.1 
			 February 2012 0 0.0 
			 March 2012 5 3.9 
			 April 2012 1 0.9 
			 May 2012 2 2.1 
			 June 2012 . 1 0.8 
			 July 2012 6 5.6 
			 August 2012 0 0.0 
			 September 2012 2 2.2 
			 October 2012 5 4.0 
			 November 2012 0 0.0 
		
	
	The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the current Session. Statistics relating to performance for the 2010-12 parliamentary Session are available on the Parliament website as follows:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/P35_Memorandum_Leader_of_the_House_ Monitoring_PQs.pdf

HOME DEPARTMENT

Biometrics

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects the regulation of biometric data, including rules for destruction of fingerprints and DNA profiles as legislated in the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 to be implemented.

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether DNA and fingerprint samples taken from people not convicted of any offence will be destroyed by the end of 2012, pursuant to section 1 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the provisions of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 relating to the destruction, retention and use of DNA will be brought into force.

James Brokenshire: I have published a written ministerial statement today setting out our implementation timetable for part 1, chapter 1 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

DNA: Databases

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date the provisions of the Protection of Freedom Act 2012 relating to the retention of DNA samples, Section 64 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and Section 14 of the Crime and Security Act 2012 will commence.

James Brokenshire: I have published a written ministerial statement today setting out our implementation timetable for part 1, chapter 1 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012

DNA: Databases

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she proposes to enact the provision under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 to remove the DNA of innocent people from the DNA database.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 17 October 2012
	I have published a written ministerial statement today setting out our implementation timetable for part 1, chapter 1 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012

Drugs: Imports

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 26 October 2012, Official Report, column 1082W, on drugs: imports, how many of the 37 licence applications that were cancelled, were cancelled by (a) her Department and (b) the applicant; and what the reasons were for each cancellation.

Jeremy Browne: Applications can be cancelled only by the Home Office. Reasons for these cancellations include (i) applications did not fit with the interim Oxycodone policy, (ii) withdrawal at the request of the company, or (iii) errors in completion. Eleven of the 37 cancellations were at the request of the applicant.

Drugs: Imports

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 26 October 2012, Official Report, column 1082W, on drugs: imports, whether any of the cancelled applications were cancelled despite the applicant companies having already been granted import licences for Oxycodone; and for what reasons in each case.

Jeremy Browne: Of the 37 cancelled applications, 22 were from companies previously granted Oxycodone import licences. Reasons for these cancellations included (i) the application did not fit with the interim Oxycodone policy, (ii) withdrawal at the request of the company, or (iii) errors in completion.

Drugs: Imports

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 26 October 2012, Official Report, column 1082W, on drugs: imports, during the interim period, how many of the 122 approved import authorisations were granted to parallel import companies; and to how many different parallel import companies were such authorisations approved.

Jeremy Browne: All 122 licences were issued to 19 companies in accordance with the interim policy. Applications are assessed against the interim Oxycodone policy but the proportion of applications granted for parallel import purposes is not retained.

Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation is co-operating with any investigation taking place into its conduct or activities.

Jeremy Browne: If and when matters are brought to the attention of the relevant law enforcement and prosecuting agencies, they will be considered for investigation. It is not customary to comment on either potential or ongoing cases.

Fingerprints: Data Protection

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent progress her Department has made on ensuring that fingerprint samples taken from innocent people will be destroyed by the end of 2012.

James Brokenshire: I have published a written ministerial statement today setting out our implementation timetable for part 1, chapter 1 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

Immigration

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  on how many occasions someone resident in the UK whose dependent relative was granted leave to come to live permanently in the country was required to reimburse any costs to the public purse for their dependent relative's maintenance, accommodation or care in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of adult dependent relatives of UK residents who are given permission to live permanently in the UK who have been in the country for (a) less than and (b) more than five years in the latest year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Harper: Information is not available on the reimbursement by UK residents of costs to the public purse arising from the settlement in the UK of a dependent relative, or on the cost to the public purse of adult dependent relatives living permanently in the UK.
	On 9 July 2012 the Government introduced new rules governing the entry of adult dependent relatives. The new rules allow an adult dependent relative of non-European economic area nationality to settle in the UK if they can demonstrate that, as a result of age, illness or disability, they require a level of long-term personal care that can only be provided in the UK by their relative here and without recourse to welfare benefits. The UK resident will continue to be required to ensure that their adult dependent relative will be adequately maintained, accommodated and cared for without recourse to welfare benefits, and sign an enforceable five-year undertaking to that effect.

Offences Against Children

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many child sex offenders are registered on the Violent and Sex Offenders Register in the UK.

Jeremy Browne: As at 6 September 2012, there were 29,837 offenders whose details were on the Violent and Sex Offenders Register (ViSOR) Dangerous Persons Database who had convictions against children (aged under 18).

Official Cars

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which Ministers in her Department have been allocated Government cars; and what the last dates were on which such cars were used by each Minister for (a) individual and (b) pool car use.

Damian Green: No Ministers have Government cars allocated to them individually; however two Government Car Service vehicles are currently contracted to the Department.
	The following table lists the dates that the contracted cars and the car pool service were last used by each Minister:
	
		
			 Minister Contracted car Pool car service 
			 James Brokenshire 12 December 2012 6 December 2012 
			 Jeremy Browne 12 December 2012 12 December 2012 
			 Damian Green 13 December 2012 10 December 2012 
			 Lord Taylor 13 December 2012 22 November 2012 
			 Mark Harper 13 December 2012 12 December 2012

Official Hospitality

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has spent for hospitality purposes on (a) Champagne, (b) wines, (c) spirits, (d) soft drinks, (e) flowers, (f) laundry, (g) porterage, (h) china, (i) cutlery and (j) venue hire since May 2010.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office accounting systems do not identify separate expenditure on Champagne, wines, spirits, soft drinks, flowers, laundry, porterage, china, cutlery and venue hire. The information cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

Olympic Games 2012

Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to safeguard the legacy of the London 2012 Olympics in the policy areas for which she is responsible; and what budget her Department has allocated for that purpose.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office is completing a comprehensive process to capture the safety and security learning from the Games, which has involved the full participation of security partners. The intention is to incorporate the major learning into the planning for future high profile events in the UK, such as the Commonwealth Games in 2014, and also to pass on comprehensive knowledge to international partners. The Home Office has already participated in the recent Government-to-Government exchange with the Brazilians to assist their preparations for a number of major events, including the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Rio Olympic Games in 2016. Overall safety and security learning will be shared with the Cabinet Office as part of the wider cross-Government lessons initiative.
	Building on a proposal in the National Security Through Technology White Paper, the Home Office is recruiting a new Director of Security Industry Engagement to co-ordinate action between Government and the security industry. A key feature of this role will be working with partners, including UKTI, to maximise the Games security legacy, including UK exports. This is already a strong theme in relevant ministerial visit programmes, including the recent Olympic and Paralympic handover in Brazil.

Pay

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was paid in (a) year end and (b) in-year bonuses to officials in her Department in each of the last two years.

James Brokenshire: The following information on non-consolidated one-off payments includes all staff in the Home Office HQ, the UK Border Agency (UKBA), the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) and the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB).
	Information on non-consolidated one-off payments for 2010-11 for the each of these bodies is in the public domain and can be found on the following Home Office link:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/about-us/corporate-publications/performance-related-pay
	Information on non-consolidated one-off payments for 2011-12 will be published shortly. It will be published on our departmental website linked to data.gov.uk.

Police: Databases

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many telephone contact databases were downloaded by police from suspects' telephones using the ACESO system by police force in each year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many telephone contact databases were deleted by police from the ACESO system by police force in each year for which figures are available;
	(3)  how many (a) warrants and (b) letters of consent were signed authorising police forces to download contact databases from suspects' telephones using the ACESO system in each year for which figures are available.

Damian Green: holding answer 12 December 2012
	The data requested are not held centrally.

Protection of Freedoms Act 2012

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects the sections of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 relating to regulation of biometric data and the destruction of fingerprint and DNA profiles to come into force.

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to lay regulations making provision for the commencement of chapter 1, part 1 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

James Brokenshire: I have published a written ministerial statement today setting out our implementation timetable for part 1, chapter 1 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

Protection of Freedoms Act 2012

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to bring into force the provisions contained in chapter 1, part 1 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 22 October 2012
	I have published a written ministerial statement today setting out our implementation timetable for part 1, chapter 1 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

Public Appointments

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which recruitment consultants her Department used to select candidates for public appointments within her departmental remit in each year for which figures are available since 2007; and how much was paid in fees to each such company in each year since 2007.

James Brokenshire: Since 2007, the Home Office has run 26 campaigns in which it used the services of recruitment consultants selected from the Cabinet Office Executive Search Framework. The companies used were Gatenby Sanderson Ltd, Odgers Berndtson, Penna PLC, Rockpools People and Performance Ltd, Saxton Bampfylde Hever plc and Veredus.
	Additionally, the Home Office used the Appointments Commission for a number of appointments. The Appointments Commission has been disbanded and it is not possible to identify the number of distinct campaigns it ran for the Home Office during this time period. However, the costs of the services provided by the Appointments Commission are included in the following figures, which cover all the costs incurred by the Home Office each year for such campaigns:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2007 437,718 
			 2008 264,626.25 
			 2009 191,870.30 
			 2010 145,260.30 
			 2011 54,703.20 
			 2012 262,451.23 
		
	
	From the data available it is not possible to disaggregate the fees for each company from total campaign costs.

Public Appointments

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many public appointments (a) regulated by and (b) not regulated by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments have been made by her Department since 2007; and in how many such cases the services of recruitment consultants were retained.

James Brokenshire: Between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2012, the Home Office made 83 appointments which were regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
	To provide the number of public appointments made since 2007 which were not regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments or where the services of a recruitment consultant were retained would incur disproportionate cost.

Sickness Absence

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2012, Official Report, columns 250-1W, on sick leave, what assessment she has made of the difference in the proportion of working days lost due to ill health between officers at AA grade and at SCS grade; and what assessment she has made of the use of mindfulness-based therapies in reducing the proportion of working days lost in her Department.

James Brokenshire: Business areas within the Home Office, supported by human resources, have delegated authority to consider how they interpret and use sickness absence data for their areas. Sickness absence across the Home Office has reduced from 9.34 annual working days lost (AWDL) in April 2009 to 7.88 AWDL in April 2010, and the latest data to October 2012 show that AWDL across the Department has reduced further to 7.63 AWDL. No overall assessment has been made on the specific difference between AWDL at AA grade compared to staff at SCS.
	There has been no overall assessment as to mindfulness-based therapies in relation to AWDL in the Department. However our Employee Assistance Provider (EAP) provides information and guidance on wellbeing topics, including mindfulness, via their website, which is accessible to all staff.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to provide a substantive answer to Question 122626, on the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, tabled on 12 October 2012 for answer on 17 October 2012.

James Brokenshire: I have answered the hon. Member’s question today.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Affordable Housing: Greater London

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding his Department has provided to the Mayor of London for building affordable homes in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13 to date; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: The Mayor of London has had oversight of housing, regeneration, and economic development in London since 1 April 2012. For the years 2010-11 and 2011-12 funding for the provision of new affordable homes in London was administered by the Homes and Communities Agency.
	In the year 2012-13 just over £428 million has been provided to the Mayor of London for new affordable homes.

Building Alterations: Planning Permission

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the Government plan to respond to his Department's consultation on proposed changes to permitted development rights for extensions to homes in non-protected areas; and if he will make a statement.

Nicholas Boles: The technical consultation on extending permitted development rights for homeowners and businesses closes on 24 December 2012. Subject to consideration of the responses to the consultation we will implement changes early next year, by means of a statutory instrument subject to the negative procedure. We will also publish a summary of the consultation responses.

Local Government Finance

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the Autumn Statement, what the estimated effect of a two per cent reduction in centrally-funded spending for local government is by (a) class of authority and (b) region in the years 2014 to 2018.

Brandon Lewis: My Department has not yet published the provisional 2013-14 Local Government Finance Settlement; this is expected in late December. We intend to publish 2014-15 figures at the time of the provisional settlement. Figures for 2015-16 onwards will be made available in due course.

Local Government Finance

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the Autumn Statement, what estimate he has made of the number of local authorities by type that will not be affected by the further two per cent reduction in centrally-funded spending in local government in England from 2014 to 2018.

Brandon Lewis: In his Autumn Statement the Chancellor announced that the local government departmental expenditure limits will be reduced by 2% in 2014-15.
	We intend to publish 2014-15 figures at the time of the provisional 2013-14 Local Government Finance Settlement, expected in late December. Figures for 2015-16 onwards will be made available in due course.

Local Government: Consultants

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  which local authorities have received grants from his Department to employ Andy Gale Consultants in each of the last three financial years;
	(2)  on how many occasions his Department has recommended Andy Gale Consultants to local authorities in each of the last three financial years.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 3 December 2012
	Andy Gale is not employed by the Department, is not contracted to the Department and, for the avoidance of doubt, does not speak for the Department.
	He was formerly employed by the Department in 2007. From 2008 onwards, I understand he has acted as a homelessness consultant to a number of local authorities.
	Under this and the last Administration, the Department has provided grant funding to a number of local authorities to support the provision of advice on preventing homelessness to complement the funding we provide to the voluntary sector.
	I understand that Mr Gale was commissioned by the London borough of Croydon from 2008 to 2011 and currently by the London borough of Newham as one of those providers of preventing homelessness advice.
	While officials have had contact on how such departmental funding has been spent, Ministers in this Administration have had no involvement with local authorities on commissioning such services.

Non-domestic Rates: Empty Property

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the findings and recommendations of the research conducted by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, published on 27 November 2012, on empty property rates; and what steps he is taking to support high streets.

Mark Prisk: The Chancellor considers a wide range of research findings and representations as part of the autumn statement of 5 December 2012, Official Report, columns 871-882, and announced a new measure to ensure that empty new builds will be exempt from empty property rates for up to 18 months up to state aid limits between 1 October 2013 and 31 October 2016.
	The autumn statement also announced a further one year extension of the doubling of small business rate relief, originally introduced in October 2010, to April 2014. An estimated third of a million small firms, including many small shops, are paying no business rates at all as a result of the scheme.
	The Government published their response to the Portas Review on 30 March 2012. We have accepted nearly all of Mary's recommendations and we are going even further with a package designed to revive ailing high streets: We are supporting 27 Portas pilots and over 330 town teams; we have delivered a £10 million High Street Innovation Fund and we are currently considering more than 50 nominations for the £1 million Future High Streets X-Fund. We celebrated the role markets can play during ‘Love your Local Markets' fortnight in June 2012, and on 12 November 2012 announced plans for a bigger and better campaign for May 2013.

Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  which regulations his Department repealed between 1 February 2012 and 31 May 2012; and what the anticipated total savings will be from repealing those regulations;
	(2)  what regulations his Department introduced between 1 February and 31 May 2012; and at what cost to the public purse.

Brandon Lewis: holding answers 18 and 28 June 2012
	Minimising regulatory burdens and creating the conditions for businesses and enterprise to flourish is a key priority for my Department.
	The “Third Statement of New Regulation” published by my Department shows that we will reduce the overall burden of regulation on business by £0.26 million in the period from 1 January to 30 June 2012. Over the three Statements of New Regulation, we estimate that the measures we are introducing this year will lead to cost savings to businesses of £4.26 million per year. As a Department we are continuing to reduce burdens to businesses.
	Statutory instruments should not necessarily be viewed as regulations—they are pieces of secondary legislation which ensure policy and functional measures have parliamentary scrutiny and oversight. In this period, my Department issued 64 statutory instruments, 12 of which revoked previous statutory instruments. In total, based on the explanatory memorandums to the instruments, 20 were deregulatory or otherwise beneficial to business; 36 had no quantifiable impact on the private and voluntary sectors; the remainder were largely consequential amendments and commencement orders. A list has been placed in the Library. On this basis, one could notionally assert that 20 regulatory measures have been removed and none introduced.

Social Security Benefits

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions regarding implementation of the household benefit cap.

Mark Prisk: Ministers (and officials) within the Department for Communities and Local Government regularly meet colleagues from other Departments to discuss a range of matters.

Wind Power: Planning Permission

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2012, Official Report, column 622W, on wind power: planning permission, if he will consider further ways of ensuring that cumulative landscape and visual effects are material considerations in a planning appeal considered by the Planning Inspectorate for onshore wind farm development.

Nicholas Boles: In a planning appeal, as with all planning applications, decisions are made in accordance with the statutory development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The introduction to the National Planning Policy Framework explains that it must be taken into account in the preparation of local plans and is a material consideration in planning decisions. In setting out in the framework the Government's planning policies, we have been clear that the adverse impact of renewable energy developments, including cumulative landscape and visual impacts, should be addressed satisfactorily.
	We would encourage local planning authorities to use their local plans to help shape where development should and should not take place, and to address cumulative landscape and visual impacts.
	More broadly, I would add that the Department for Energy and Climate Change has been undertaking a call for evidence into onshore wind, including examining how communities can have more of a say over, and receive greater economic and wider social benefits from hosting onshore wind farms. Decision-makers will need to take account of the results of this call for evidence in determining future planning applications.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Rwanda

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the Government is taking to assist the poorest in Rwanda following the suspension of budgetary support to that country.

Justine Greening: My officials are developing options on how the UK can continue to help protect the poorest in Rwanda.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether her Department has agreed a timetable for the distribution of aid to Yemen that was pledged at the last Friends of Yemen meeting on 27 September 2012.

Alan Duncan: The UK played a leading role in reaching the aid commitments made at the donor conference in Riyadh and Friends of Yemen in September 2012, where the international community pledged $7.8 billion of aid to support Yemen's recovery. Of the £196 million Britain committed, £56 million will be spent in 2012-13, £69 million in 2013-14 and £71 million in 2014-15.
	With support from the World Bank, the Government of Yemen are taking steps to ensure the delivery of the $7.8 billion. This includes setting up an agency which will agree priority projects to be funded, implement vital policy reforms agreed under the Mutual Accountability Framework and ensure that Government and donors are held to account to meet their commitments.
	DFID has been instrumental in the establishment of this agency and will provide financial support to its work through the World Bank.

Yemen

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of aid given to Yemen will be spent on health projects.

Alan Duncan: DFID does not provide direct bilateral support to the health sector in Yemen. A number of our projects however do address health care issues. Part of the UK's £100 million contribution to the Yemeni Social Fund for Development (SFD) from 2010-11 to 2014-15 will be used to build and equip health facilities and provide training for medical professionals. We are also providing £35 million to the United Nations Children's Fund over three years to improve nutrition in Yemen and this includes support to nutrition related healthcare services. In addition we are also strengthening the provision of emergency healthcare services through our £33 million programme of humanitarian assistance, in particular through support to the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), to the United Nations Emergency Response Fund and a consortium of international non-governmental organisations.
	All of the programmes described here work across a range of sectors and it is not possible to disaggregate the proportion spent on health related interventions.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts Council

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much (a) lottery funding, (b) Music Hub funding and (c) funding in any other specific funding stream the Arts Council received in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12; and how much such funding will be provided in (A) 2012-13, (B) 2013-14 and (C) 2014-15.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 3 December 2012
	Funding allocated to Arts Council England (ACE) is set out in the following table.
	
		
			 £000 
			 Financial year Lottery funding Music hub funding(1) DCMS funding(2) 
			 2009-10 143,000 n/a 453,000 
			 2010-11 152,000 n/a 439,000 
			 2011-12 182,000 n/a 394,000 
			 2012-13 243,000 50,000 474,000 
			 2013-14 260,000 63,000 473,000 
			 2014-15 262,000 58,000 459,000 
			 (1) Funding provided by Department for Education. Music Hubs began operating in September 2012. (2) Includes funding from the Department for Education for Music Education Hubs and other Cultural Education programmes, which is transferred to DCMS and passed to ACE as Grant in Aid.

Culture

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 4 December 2012, Official Report, column 704W, on culture, when she expects to commission the study into the contribution of art and culture to the national economy; when she expects the report to be published; and if she will consider commissioning a report specifically into the economic effects of the arts and culture on UK cities.

Edward Vaizey: The study referred to in the answer of 4 December 2012, Official Report, column 704W, into the contribution of art and culture to the national economy, is an Arts Council England commissioned research study to produce an evidence-based understanding of the direct, indirect and wider contribution that arts and culture make to the national economy. This is expected to be published in early summer 2013.

Gambling Act 2005

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when her Department intends to publish its response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee's First Report of Session 2012-13, “The Gambling Act 2005: A bet worth taking?” HC 421.

Edward Vaizey: The Report contains a number of detailed recommendations to which we are giving full consideration. A response will be published shortly.

Public Expenditure

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to table 22, page 58 of the Autumn Statement 2012, how she intends to make the proposed £30 million reduction in the departmental resource budget by 2014-15.

Edward Vaizey: Alongside all other unprotected Government Departments, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has been asked to find savings of 1% in 2013-14 and 2% in 2014-15. The Department has passed these reductions on to its arm's length bodies, and to DCMS itself, in a way that also protects a small number of existing commitments, such as funding for Elite Athletes. All bodies funded by DCMS have been contacted individually by the Department to discuss the level of savings that they will be asked to deliver, and the adjusted settlements have been published on the DCMS website.
	Each of our arm's length bodies will need to make their own decisions about how to deal with reductions in accordance with their own particular circumstances. As with the spending review two years ago, there could be further savings through efficiencies and from ending lower value activity.

Tourism: Devon

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which 10 tourist attractions in Devon attracted the greatest number of visitors in each of the last three years.

Hugh Robertson: The Department does not record this information. However, each year VisitEngland invites all English visitor attractions to take part in an annual survey, recording visitor numbers alongside other key information such as entrance fees and visitor profiles. Full details of the results of this survey, including those for Devon attractions, in the last three years can be found at:
	http://www.visitengland.org/insight-statistics/major-tourism-surveys/attractions/Annual_Survey/index.aspx

Work Experience

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) unpaid and (b) expenses-only internships there have been in public bodies for which her Department is responsible in the last 12 months.

Edward Vaizey: The Department does not collate information about internships within our arm's length bodies. Accordingly, I have asked their chief executives to write to the hon. Member. Copies of their replies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

WALES

Sickness Absence

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the average number of working days lost was per person in (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years.

Stephen Crabb: The average working days lost per person in the Wales Office in the financial year 2011-12 was 7.7.
	Prior to 1 April 2011, the Wales Office was part of the Ministry of Justice. Therefore, our figures for the financial years 2007-08 to 2010-11 form part of the Ministry of Justice figures for this period.

Welsh Language Commissioner

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  whether there has been recent progress on the appointment of a secondee from the Welsh Language Commissioner's Office to work with his Department;
	(2)  how he plans the new Welsh Language Commissioner standards will be implemented in non-devolved Government Departments.

David Jones: The Welsh Language Commissioner has written to the Welsh Government setting out her recommendations for Welsh language standards under the Welsh Language Measure 2011.
	When final standards are determined, the Wales Office will lead a review of UK Government Departments' Welsh language services to examine their potential to meet them. The Wales Office intends to appoint a secondee from the Welsh Language Commissioner to support this work, and discussions with the Commissioner on the appointment are ongoing.

JUSTICE

Civil Proceedings: Human Rights

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many legal proceedings against the Government brought under the Human Rights Act 1998 have been resolved on the basis of relative costs notwithstanding actual levels of culpability in each year since 2002; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of cases for compensation under human rights legislation which were spurious, vexatious or frivolous; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the total (a) number and (b) compliance cost of rulings from the European Court of Human Rights which have gone against the UK to date; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Green: No data are collected centrally on the number of legal proceedings brought against the Government under the Human Rights Act 1998 or on the outcomes of those cases. Therefore no general information is available on how costs have be borne in such proceedings or on the proportion of claims for compensation under human rights legislation that might be deemed to be spurious, vexatious or frivolous.
	Information published on the website of the European Court of Human Rights states that between 1959 and the end of 2011, the Court issued 279 judgments finding at least one violation against the United Kingdom. The Government has not made any estimate of the cost of complying with the judgments finding at least one violation.

Community Orders

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what he anticipates the average length will be of community orders which contain punitive elements.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) published its response to the “Punishment and reform: effective community sentences” consultation on 23 October 2012. We are legislating to require courts to include a punitive element in every community order, apart from in exceptional circumstances. We have not made any assessment of the average length of community orders which contain punitive elements.
	However, the MOJ publishes quarterly Offender Management Caseload Statistics which include data on the average length of a community order. These statistics are published on the MOJ website, on the following webpage:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/prisons-and-probation/oms-quarterly/oms-quarterly-editions
	The average length of a community order (in months) is outlined as follows:
	
		
			  Average length of community order (months) 
			 2006 13.8 
			 2007 13.3 
			 2008 13.1 
			 2009 12.8 
			 2010 12.7 
			 2011 12.3

Community Orders

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of individual community order requirements in reducing re-offending rates.

Jeremy Wright: The proven re-offending rate for adults subject to court orders(1) was 34% in 2010.
	The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has published research into the relative effectiveness of community order requirements at reducing re-offending, for offenders with similar characteristics.
	The study used propensity score matching to explore the impact of different community order requirements on the re-offending rate and frequency of re-offending within two years of the initial offence. The analysis used data from the Offender Assessment System, probation and re-offending records and administrative data on employment and benefit receipt. The key findings of the research were that:
	Offenders who receive supervision plus certain punitive requirements (unpaid work or curfew) committed fewer re-offences within a two year period of the community order, compared to those who only receive supervision;
	Offenders who receive supervision plus a curfew committed fewer re-offences within a two year period of the community order, compared to those who receive only supervision;
	Offenders who receive supervision, a punitive requirement (unpaid work or curfew) and a programme requirement were less likely to re-offend and committed fewer re-offences within a two year period of the community order, compared to those who receive supervision and a punitive requirement;
	There was no impact on re-offending of adding a punitive requirement to certain other specified combinations of requirements; and
	Adding supervision to a standalone punitive requirement reduces re-offending.
	The research is published on the MOJ website and can be located on the following webpage:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/research-and-analysis/moj-research/niesr-report.pdf
	(1) Including pre-Criminal Justice Act 2003 community sentences, new community orders and suspended sentence orders.

Equality Advisory and Support Service

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the (a) set up and (b) ongoing cost of the Equality Advisory and Support Service.

Helen Grant: The set-up and running costs of the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) was assessed through an EU compliant Official Journal of the EU (OJEU) procurement process. The bidder who succeeded in this competitive tendering process is delivering the EASS in accordance with its contract with the Government Equalities Office.

Fraud

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions for fraud there have been in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Jeremy Wright: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for fraud and forgery offences, in England and Wales, for the period 2001 to 2011, can be viewed in the following table.
	
		
			 Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for fraud and forgery offences, England and Wales, 2001-11(1,2) 
			 Outcome 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008(3) 2009 2010 2011 
			 Proceeded against 30,733 29,875 29,545 27,438 25,904 24,930 25,662 24,145 26,138 26,074 22,343 
			 Found guilty 21,815 21,477 21,280 20,796 20,380 19,709 21,023 20,573 21,039 21,049 19,195 
			 (1) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Information Officers

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to the public purse of his Department's press office was in (a) April 2010 and (b) the latest period for which figures are available.

Damian Green: The Ministry of Justice Press Office operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, dealing with all media relations for the Department including the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), from the international, national, regional, local and specialist media.
	The fully inclusive costs of the MOJ press office for April 2010 were £199,020.17. The costs for the latest available reporting period of October 2012 are £157,502.30.
	The Department also has a small press function based with Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (formed in April 2011 by combining Her Majesty's Court Service and the Tribunals Service). Costs for April 2010 are unavailable as this predates the creation of HMCTS. The costs for the latest available reporting period of October 2012 are £13,223.

Legal Aid Scheme

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many lawyers have been sanctioned for abuse of the legal aid system in each year since 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) contracts with organisations to deliver legal aid; any contract action is therefore applied to the organisation rather than individuals. The number of contract notices and terminations issued following breach of contract in each of the last three financial years and current year to date is shown in the following table. The LSC does not hold comprehensive information prior to 2009-10.
	
		
			  Contract notices issued Termination notices issued 
			 1 April to 30 October 2012 734 49 
			 2011-12 832 31 
			 2010-11(1) 1,128 109 
			 2009-10 259 13 
			 (1) Includes notices and terminations due to a contract tender in 2010 where some firms with existing contracts failed to achieve the tender requirements.

Legal Aid Scheme

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost has been of legal aid cases involving non-UK nationals taking legal action against the Ministry of Defence in each year since 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: The information is not held in the format requested. The Legal Services Commission (LSC) does not record the nationality of legal aid claimants, and so cannot provide the costs incurred on these cases.

Legal Aid Scheme

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost was of the 10 highest-costing cases of legal aid in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: The information on the highest-costing cases is not readily available. I will write to the hon. Member once the cases have been identified by the Legal Services Commission (LSC).

Legal Aid Scheme

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to the public purse has been of paying the ten highest recipients of payments for legal aid in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: The information is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost; systems are not set up to be able to identify and automatically link the payments it makes to represent individual legal aid clients across different legal aid cases and schemes.

Legal Aid Scheme

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will consider the introduction of cost limits to legal aid cases; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: Further to those reforms to legal aid in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 which, alongside changes to fee reforms, is estimated to save approximately £320 million per annum by 2014-15, my right hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice has announced an immediate examination of aspects of the system which impact on public confidence in the system. The results of this will be published in due course.

Legal Profession: Business

Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to increase the access of small and medium-sized enterprises to the legal services market.

Helen Grant: A new licensing regime for Alternative Business Structures (ABS) became fully operational on 6 October 2011. Under this new regime, different types of lawyers can work together and with other professionals as one entity to provide a range of legal and non-legal services. ABS also gives all firms, including smaller firms, the opportunity to take on valuable new expertise to help their businesses grow and innovate.
	To date (12 December 2012), 43 licences have been issued by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, while the Council for Licensed Conveyancers has issued 16 licences. The licences issued so far highlight the diversity of the organisations that are embracing the opportunities of the ABS regime ranging from small high street firms to large organisations like the Co-operative Legal Services.

Mobile Phones

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many mobile telephones issued to members of his Department have been reported lost in the last six months; and at what cost to the public purse.

Helen Grant: Information on the number of mobile telephones lost, and at what cost, from the Ministry of Justice is not recorded centrally. This information is kept at a local level and can be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
	All Ministry of Justice mobile telephones that are registered as lost are blocked remotely, making it impossible for them to be used. The Ministry also implements security incident management procedures to ensure that the impacts of incidents are risk managed and investigations are undertaken to seek, where possible, to retrieve lost assets.
	The Ministry adopts Government security policy framework requirements to securely protect its assets.

Parole Board

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many members of the Parole Board are (a) current and (b) former members of the Parole Board for Scotland;
	(2)  how many members of the Parole Board for Scotland have been appointed to serve on the Parole Board in each year since 2007.

Jeremy Wright: None of the current members of the Parole Board for England and Wales have served as a member of the Parole Board for Scotland.
	One former member of the Parole Board for England and Wales who served in that role from 2004 to March 2012 was appointed, in December 2009, as a member of the Parole Board for Scotland.
	Since 2007, no other members of the Parole Board for Scotland have been appointed to serve on the Parole Board for England and Wales.

Pay

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was paid in (a) year end and (b) in-year bonuses to officials in his Department in each of the last two years.

Jeremy Wright: The amount of money paid out by the Ministry of Justice (including the National Offender Management Service, HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the Office of the Public Guardian) on non-consolidated performance-related awards for the performance years 2010-11 and 2011-12 is set out in the following table.
	
		
			 £ 
			 Performance year In-year End of year 
			 2010-11 2,298,492 3,903,089 
			 2011-12 1,518,856 3,792,565 
		
	
	Full information on the non-consolidated payments awarded for the 2010-11 performance year is available on the Department's website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/information-access-rights/transparency-data/ncprp
	Full information on the 2011-12 performance year is expected to be published on the same website shortly.

Public Appointments

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which recruitment consultants his Department used to select candidates for public appointments within his departmental remit in each year for which figures are available since 2007; and how much was paid in fees to each such company in each year since 2007.

Jeremy Wright: Before the partial centralisation of public appointments in April 2011, recruitment was carried out by officials across the Department. To obtain this information would therefore incur disproportionate costs. For centrally run recruitment of public appointments since April 2011, the Department has used the services of Odgers Berndtson and Gatenby Sanderson. Odgers Berndtson received £63,988 (including VAT), up to 10 December 2012 Gatenby Sanderson received £227,968 (including VAT).

Public Appointments

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many public appointments (a) regulated by and (b) not regulated by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments have been made by his Department since 2007; and in how many such cases the services of recruitment consultants were retained.

Jeremy Wright: Before the partial centralisation of public appointments in April 2011, recruitment was carried out by officials across the Department, and obtaining the number of public appointments made and how many involved the use of recruitment consultants would incur disproportionate costs.
	Data on Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA) regulated appointments are supplied to the Commissioner every year.
	http://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/?s=Statistics
	will provide access to the statistics gathered by the Commissioner, however, it does not break the data down by Departments.
	Between April 2010 to October 2012 there have been (a) 420 OCPA regulated, and (b) 763 non-OCPA regulated appointments, and between April 2011 to December 2012, recruitment consultants were used eight times.

Public Appointments

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when his Department last assessed the (a) utility and (b) value of psychometric testing in its recruitment and selection of candidates for public appointments on advisory boards.

Jeremy Wright: The utility and the value of assessment centre work, which includes psychometric testing, was last looked at by the Department as part of the lessons learnt exercise that followed the campaign to recruit forensic psychologists in 2011 for the Parole Board for England and Wales.

Public Appointments

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his Department's policy is on the payment of travel expenses to candidates in respect of their attendance at assessment centres and interviews when pursuing applications for selection to a public appointment.

Jeremy Wright: Current policy is that, generally, candidates' travel expenses are not paid. However, they can be paid in exceptional circumstances. If expenses are paid they will be for standard class to and from the venue.

Sentencing Council for England and Wales

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what budget his Department has allocated for the process to recruit non-judicial members of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales in January 2013.

Jeremy Wright: The Department has allocated £37,578 (including VAT) for the recruitment of four non-judicial members of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.

Sentencing Council for England and Wales

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much Gatenby Sanderson will be paid in respect of the process to recruit non-judicial members of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales in January 2013.

Jeremy Wright: Of the allocation for the recruitment of non-judicial members of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, £23,700 (including VAT) is to cover the estimated cost of the recruitment consultants.

Training

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on team away days in the last six months; and where each such event was held.

Damian Green: Wherever possible, staff training events occur at departmental facilities, which incur no additional cost. However, due to the constraints on availability of suitable accommodation, on some occasions such meetings may take place at external venues.
	The Ministry's accounting systems do not separately quantify expenditure on away days. Such events are managed locally by business areas. The Ministry does not record this information centrally.
	Therefore, to establish the cost and location of away day events would require a Ministry-wide survey of all its local business areas. This would be a significant exercise and incur a disproportionate cost.
	All spending on away days is completed in line with the Finance Policy Manual, which is in line with HM Treasury Guidance on Managing Public Money, and states the following for away days and team building events:
	“These occasional events are organised to develop working relationships and achieve Departmental objectives. They are acceptable as long as the event can be justified as good value for money and can demonstrate development achievements. Costs should be reasonable and comparable to the status of the event”.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 31 October 2012, Official Report, column 283W, when he intends to provide a substantive answer to question 124635, tabled by the hon. Member for Tooting on 31 October 2012 on prison sentences.

Jeremy Wright: I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member’s previous question, and am pleased to report my Department has now provided the hon. Member with a response. A copy has been placed in the House Library.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy Efficiency

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to help households improve their energy efficiency.

Gregory Barker: The Green Deal, which will go live on 28 January, will transform the homes of millions of UK consumers over the coming decade and beyond.
	This transformational policy, alongside the energy company obligation and smart meters roll-out, will drive the development of a new energy efficiency market—providing unprecedented choice, benefits and access to low cost finance for British consumers.

Deforestation

Kris Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he plans to take to combat deforestation by a greater use of renewable energy.

Gregory Barker: Supporting the slowing, halting and reversing of global deforestation is a priority for the coalition Government.
	However, the use of sustainable biomass for energy should not lead to deforestation.
	To ensure we only use sustainable biomass in British power stations we have introduced mandatory reporting against sustainability criteria as part of the renewables obligation.
	Furthermore, we propose to strengthen the sustainability criteria that apply to wood-fuel, based on Forest Stewardship Council standards and others.

Carbon Emissions

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his Department's policy is on implementation of the Fourth Carbon Budget.

Gregory Barker: The fourth carbon budget, covering the period 2023-27, was approved by Parliament in June 2011 and was set at the level (1,950 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent) recommended by the independent Committee on Climate Change. This equates to a 50% reduction in UK greenhouse gas emissions relative to 1990 levels.
	The Carbon Plan, published in December 2011, set out a number of scenarios, policies and proposals for achieving the emissions reductions committed to in the first four carbon budgets on a pathway consistent with meeting the 2050 target.
	The Government recognise the scale of the challenge ahead if it is to meet its targets for the fourth carbon budget and beyond and are taking action now to deliver the step change that is needed. The recently announced Energy Bill set out proposals for reforming the electricity market to support low carbon generation, changes which should lead to a doubling in the normal rate of investment. The Government are also supporting continued take-up of energy efficiency measures through the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation; building a market for renewable heat through the Renewable Heat Incentive; and have put in place a Green Investment Bank to help catalyse the private investment that is crucial to driving the change that is needed.

Energy: Consumers

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of energy customers who switched suppliers (a) once, (b) twice and (c) more than twice in the latest year for which figures are available.

Gregory Barker: DECC publishes statistics on switching in its Quarterly Energy Prices publication. The latest statistics show that in Great Britain in 2011, there were 4.2 million electricity supplier switches, and 3.3 million gas supplier switches.
	Ofgem collect the above data and provide it to DECC. They do not hold data on the number of times customers have switched in a given period. Therefore the figures given above represent the maximum number of customers that could have switched supplier in 2011, assuming that no customer switched supplier more than once.

Energy: Co-operatives

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of energy co-operatives in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) the UK; what the total turnover of such co-operatives is (i) now, (ii) likely to be in 2015 and (iii) likely to be in 2020; what the total number of members of such co-operatives is (A) now, (B) likely to be in 2015 and (C) likely to be in 2020; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: DECC does not hold data on the number, turnover or membership numbers of co-operative or community energy schemes in England, Wales or the UK.
	However, the Department is planning to shortly commission a piece of research to improve the evidence base around community energy in the UK which will feed in to the development of the DECC Community Energy Strategy.
	As part of this research, the current scale of the community energy sector will be estimated, and a typology of community energy schemes will be developed. The feasibility of assessing the potential contribution of community energy schemes will also be explored.

Energy: Social Enterprises

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on support for community-owned renewable energy schemes.

Gregory Barker: The Government recognise the power of community enterprise and institutions to effect change in society, and the coalition agreement included a commitment to supporting community energy projects.
	We are scoping a Community Energy Strategy at the request of the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), that will be released in late spring 2013.

Energy: Social Enterprises

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has assessed the potential contribution of community-owned energy schemes to the UK's energy goals in respect of levels of (a) carbon dioxide emissions and (b) energy security.

John Hayes: DECC is planning to shortly commission a piece of research to improve the evidence base around community energy in the UK which will feed in to the development of the DECC Community Energy Strategy. As part of this research, the current scale of the community energy sector will be estimated, and the feasibility of assessing the potential contribution of community energy schemes will be explored.

Fuel Poverty: Leeds

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the number of households in fuel poverty in Leeds North West constituency.

Gregory Barker: In 2010, the latest year for which data is available, the number of households estimated to be in fuel poverty in Leeds North West constituency was 6,600. This is equivalent to 18% of all households in this constituency.

Pay

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much was paid in (a) year end and (b) in-year bonuses to officials in his Department in each of the last two years.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change currently awards both non-consolidated end of year performance awards and in year special awards.
	The Department uses non-consolidated performance related payments to help drive high performance as they:
	encourage continuous high attainment because the payments are dependent upon continuing strong performance
	prevent a permanent rise in salary and an increase in pension on the basis of one off performances while still allowing good performance to be rewarded
	have no long term costs, in particular it does not increase future pension payments
	focus the work of employees more directly on the priority goals of the organisation
	motivate employees by linking an element of compensation to the achievement of objectives rather than offering payment for time served
	target money at those who make the biggest contribution
	End of year non-consolidated performance awards are used to reward the Department’s highest performers as assessed in their end of year appraisal reports.
	Non-consolidated in year special awards are used to recognise performance or behaviours which might not be fully reflected in an end of year performance appraisal. These may be used to reward staff for exceptional pieces of work or taking on additional responsibilities.
	The following table details how much was paid in (a) year end and (b) in-year bonuses to officials in the Department in each of the last two calendar years for which data is available:
	
		
			 £ 
			 Year in which awards were paid In-year non-consolidated awards End-year non-consolidated 
			 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011 220,767 674,566 
			 1 January 2012 to 30 November 2012 218,588 230,046 
		
	
	The data for 2012 does not include end year non-consolidated awards for staff below the senior civil service as these awards had not been paid up to November 2012.

Renewable Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when his Department plans to publish the renewables roadmap.

John Hayes: An update to the UK Renewable Energy Roadmap will be published soon.

River Severn

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what funding from the public purse has been provided for Cardiff university's research and promotional activities on the Severn barrage since October 2010.

Gregory Barker: DECC has not provided any funding to Cardiff university for its research and promotional activities on the Severn barrage. Neither are we aware of any public funds made to the university for such purposes since October 2010.

Sellafield

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the National Audit Office report into the decommissioning of the Sellafield Nuclear Plant published in November 2012.

John Hayes: The Government are considering carefully the detailed findings and recommendations of the National Audit Office (NAO) report into managing risk at Sellafield, published on 7 November 2012, and will respond fully to those in due course. In the meantime the Government welcome the NAO's report, which recognises that the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has a very difficult legacy of nuclear waste to manage at Sellafield.
	The NDA and its contractor, Sellafield Ltd, are now making steady progress at Sellafield, delivering across a range of challenging programmes. The NAO report recognises that while the performance of some of the major projects at Sellafield has been poor, performance on other activities on the site has improved. It also finds that the NDA is taking appropriate steps with Sellafield Ltd to improve performance on projects.
	The Government have made cleaning up and decommissioning the nuclear legacy a priority and is tackling it with vigour, maintaining funding at some £3 billion a year, even at a time when it faces difficult spending decisions. This enables the NDA to continue to make progress on decommissioning, with the focus being on tackling the highest hazards at Sellafield. It is essential that we continue with this vital work and do not repeat the mistakes of the past, which was to do nothing.

Warm Front Scheme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households received assistance under the Warm Front scheme in England in each month of the last 11 years; and what the average level of grant provided under the scheme was in each such month.

Gregory Barker: The number of households assisted under the Warm Front scheme and the average level of grant provided in each such month over the past eleven years is provided in the following table. These data are only available from 2005.
	
		
			 Assisted households 
			  2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 April — 15,680 21,173 21,052 17,690 25,545 6 2,537 
			 May — 21,809 25,201 21,055 21,004 9,890 79 2,330 
			 June 7,325 16,579 20,202 15,095 19,960 8,691 801 2,173 
			 July 9,151 18,661 18,514 15,926 15,954 9,176 3,350 2,556 
			 August 11,166 21,038 25,853 19,144 19,676 8,025 2,933 1,904 
			 September 12,094 18,023 22,879 16,401 24,308 14,763 2,582 2,015 
			 October 10,509 21,403 22,268 17,687 20,664 12,374 2,617 3,582 
			 November 10,563 25,968 27,250 21,258 17,855 13,976 2,587 3,471 
			 December 10,037 18,132 19,749 14,877 15,982 13,007 5,967 — 
			 January 11,069 18,511 21,273 19,402 12,010 10,157 3,609 — 
			 February 13,439 30,983 24,847 30,023 12,072 2,170 4,179 — 
			 March 19,242 26,292 19,691 21,674 15,788 156 4,348 — 
			 Total per year 114,595 253,079 268,900 233,594 212,963 127,930 33,058 20,568 
		
	
	
		
			 Average spend 
			 £ 
			  2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 April — 763.53 1,472.01 2,355.11 2,446.16 1,569.62 3,614,262.10 1,052.23 
			 May — 1,247.91 1,558.00 2,813.95 3,215.42 3,880.95 240,695.66 1,326.00 
			 June 3,085.83 1,129.04 1,651.24 2,205.72 1,776.03 2,909.64 15,727. 08 1,281.54 
			 July 1,760.80 1,149.24 1,834.66 2,095.78 1,993.53 2,584.64 2,346.05 1,028.10 
			 August 1,422.99 1,366.83 1,573.59 1,531.88 2,207.64 2,830.42 2,394.20 1,267.94 
			 September 1,087.22 1,259.11 1,499.27 1,524.36 1,370.80 1,984.78 2,529.87 1,149.49 
			 October 1,200.85 1,271.26 1,505.00 1,468.53 1,585.21 2,080.49 2,432.19 680.53 
			 November 1,016.13 1,309.31 1,355.94 1,240.12 1,324.12 2,151.59 2,115.55 624.33 
			 December 1,380.76 1,191.60 1,264.13 2,382.25 1,393.23 1,935.10 887.80 — 
			 January 1,303.52 1,432.55 1,014.32 1,700.56 1,638.16 2,524.71 1,467.87 — 
			 February 1,163.54 1,271.59 845.31 898.09 1,096.72 15,312.39 1,297.26 — 
			 March 1,236.57 1,272.44 128.34 1,006.73 862.24 328,464.62 1,253.93 — 
			 Total per year 1,634.33 1,236.71 1,313.78 1,709.73 1,784.42 2,896.85 3,267.52 997.02

Wind Power

Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on wind farms; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: The Government's policy on wind farms was set out in the Renewables Roadmap and we will soon be publishing an update which will continue and confirm that policy.
	The coalition is committed to supporting a balanced energy policy and onshore and offshore wind have key roles to play in this.
	I am strongly of the view that wind farms must be appropriately sited and provide genuine social and economic benefits to local communities.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Pay

Dominic Raab: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how many employees in her Department were paid (a) between £80,000 and £100,000 per year and (b) in excess of £100,000 per year in each of the last five years.

Maria Miller: holding answer 12 December 2012
	The number of employees in the Government Equalities Office paid (a) between £80,000 and £100,000 and (b) in excess of £100,000 per year, in each of the last five financial years, are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Between £80,000 and £100,000 In excess of £100,000 
			 2012-13 0 2 
			 2011-12 2 1 
			 2010-11 1 2 
			 2009-10 2 1 
			 2008-09 2 1

Public Appointments

Michael Weir: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities when her Department last assessed the (a) utility and (b) value of psychometric testing in its recruitment and selection of candidates for public appointments on advisory boards.

Maria Miller: The Government Equalities Office has never assessed (a) the utility or (b) the value of psychometric testing in its recruitment and selection of candidates for public appointments on advisory boards.

Public Appointments

Michael Weir: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what her Department's policy is on the payment of travel expenses to candidates in respect of their attendance at assessment centres and interviews when pursuing applications for selection to a public appointment.

Maria Miller: In 2007, the Minister for Women and Equalities' Department followed the candidate expenses policy of the Department for Communities and Local Government. From 2008-10, the Department paid travel expenses of candidates in line with its own travel and expenses policy. Since 2011, the Department has paid expenses where requested, in line with Home Office policy.

Sickness Absence

David Ruffley: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what the average number of working days lost was per person in (a) her Department and (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years.

Maria Miller: The average number of working days lost per person in the Government Equalities Office (GEO) in each of the last four years is set out in the following table. The GEO was established in October 2007, and therefore annual figures for 2007-08 are not available.
	
		
			  Average working days lost 
			 2008-09 1.91 
			 2009-10 3.8 
			 2010-11 4.3 
			 2011-12 3.4

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agricultural Wages Board

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many of the respondents to his Department's recent consultation on the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board (AWB) were (a) in favour, (b) opposed to and (c) neutral on the abolition of the AWB.

David Heath: The Government will publish the details of the responses to the consultation on the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales, Agricultural Wages Committees and Agricultural Dwelling House Advisory Committee shortly.

Animals: Exports

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage hauliers, traders and farmers to comply with his Department's policy to give preference to seeing meat (or germ plasm) exported rather than live animals.

David Heath: DEFRA's policy remains that we would prefer to see an export trade in meat and germ plasm rather than one in live animals. But it cannot ban the transport of livestock going to slaughter.
	DEFRA continues to work with industry to promote meat and germ plasm exports. There has been significant progress made towards the shared goals as set out in our action plan ‘Driving Export Growth in the Farming, Food and Drink Sector’, published in January 2012. As part of the action plan, DEFRA aims to make exporting easier by overhauling export health certification for animal products, to improve service quality and reduce costs for businesses.

Cats

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will bring forward legislative proposals in respect of the breeding of cats.

David Heath: There are no proposals to bring forward legislation to regulate the breeding of cats.

Common Agricultural Policy

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2012, Official Report, column 303W, on the common agricultural policy, what are the proposed amendments in relation to the active farmer test which are expected to reduce implementation burdens.

David Heath: The European Commission's active farmer test included an income check which would require that paying agencies collect and thoroughly examine each applicant's financial records to establish whether direct payment receipts amounted to more than 5% of total income from non-agricultural activities. This income test would be prohibitively expensive and administratively complex to implement, without providing any discernable benefit to farming or the EU budget.
	This Government, working closely with like-minded member states, have successfully negotiated the removal of the requirement for an income check from the presidency text. Although not yet finalised, this is good progress towards simplifying the European Commission's proposals. We will continue to work hard to secure further much-needed reductions in unnecessary bureaucracy across the whole of the common agricultural policy reform package.

Environment Protection: Publicity

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reasons the information, advice and links on greener living for individuals were not transferred from the directgov website to the new gov.uk website; if he will make it his policy to (a) post such information on the gov.uk website and (b) include advice on making greener food and drink choices as part of this; how he plans to ensure any such information can be found easily by members of the public; what other steps he is taking to encourage greener living; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA has collaborated with the GOV.UK team in the Cabinet Office on the development of the new GOV.UK website. Decisions on what information did and did not transfer over from Directgov were made jointly.
	A strong focus of the GOV.UK site is to present very clearly the information which Government must publish, specifically on people's legal rights and obligations. As a general rule, where Directgov had “advisory” content that was not based on law or regulation, this did not transfer over to GOV.UK. The GOV.UK site does not aim to duplicate this kind of information which people would be more likely to get from non-Government sources. This was supported by extensive research that the GOV.UK team carried out into people's usage of Directgov and the web in general. Visits to this kind of information on Directgov was shown to be very low. All these considerations applied in the case of the ‘Greener Living’ advice on Directgov.
	Customer testing was carried out by the Government Digital Service as a key part of the process of developing the single government website. It highlighted that people are confused by the sheer volume of Government information. They simply want Government to tell them what they have to do as clearly as possible, not to offer general advice where this is not an obligation and where there are other, independent sources of information they can turn to.
	DEFRA continues to work closely with a range of non-governmental organisations, civil society and businesses to continue to develop and highlight greener living choices. We do this through a range of ongoing research projects exploring, for example, new business models relating to sustainable consumption. We also fund WRAP to promote reuse and recycling of materials and encourage the reduction of waste.
	To ensure we continue to communicate with the public on how to support green living principles we will use social media channels such as the DEFRA Facebook and Twitter accounts as platforms for sharing ideas and stimulating conversation.

Floods: Insurance

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to deliver a new agreement on flood insurance when the Statement of Principles finishes in 2013.

Richard Benyon: We remain committed to ongoing discussions with the Association of British Insurers, on behalf of their members, and others about what replaces the Statement of Principles agreement. There are a range of options on the table and we need a lasting solution that ensures affordable insurance bills for those at flood risk but does not place unsustainable costs on wider policyholders and the taxpayer.
	Tackling flood risk remains the most effective way of keeping insurance terms affordable in the long-term. It was announced in the autumn statement of 5 December 2012, Official Report, columns 871-82, that an extra £120 million will be spent over the next two years (April 2013-March 2015) to accelerate around 50 flood defence projects. This combined with increasing levels of external co-funding means that over the current spending period, more will be spent on flood and coastal risk management than ever before.

Floods: Somerset

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Environment Agency and other bodies able to affect water levels about their priorities for and responsibilities to farmers who have lost productive land as a result of summer flood water in the Somerset Levels and Moors.

Richard Benyon: I met with the Minister of State, Home Department, the hon. Member for Taunton Deane (Mr Browne), the Environment Agency, Somerset Drainage Boards, some farmers and other local people affected by the flooding on 8 November 2012.
	The Environment Agency and the Somerset Drainage Boards Consortium have been working with the community to review the flooding events and, in the light of that, they are looking in detail at how flood water could be better distributed around the moors to reduce damage in future.
	The Environment Agency and the Drainage Boards are considering the cost and benefits of a number of potential options and will be reporting progress to a working group in January 2013.

Food: Government Departments

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on developing Government Buying Standards for food to date.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA spent approximately £85,000 in terms of staff resources developing the Food and Catering Services Government Buying Standard (GBS) published in September 2011 and taking initial steps towards embedding this in contracts. In addition, since then there has been further work done to add a requirement to support procurement of sustainable palm oil, which involved a small additional amount of staff time. It drew on a research project on UK palm oil consumption— “Mapping & Understanding the UK Palm Oil Supply Chain and Analysis of Policy Options” commissioned to inform action on palm oil overall, which cost £56,800. An additional amount of staff resource has also been spent in procuring and publishing reports in relation to schools and hospitals to support embedding of this standard in those sectors, and in supporting the use of GBS generally within central Government.

Guide Dogs

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will bring forward proposals to widen the scope of legislation to protect assistance dogs and make an offence of an attack on an assistance dog, treating it as an attack on a person.

David Heath: DEFRA has proposed a package of measures aimed at tackling irresponsible dog ownership and reducing the number of dog attacks generally, including attacks on assistance dogs. DEFRA has also been working closely with the Home Office to ensure that their new measures to deal with antisocial behaviour will also include such behaviour where it involves dogs. The DEFRA proposals were subject to recent public consultation and we are finalising the analysis of the 27,000 or so responses before making an announcement on a way forward shortly.

Official Hospitality

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent for hospitality purposes on (a) Champagne, (b) wines, (c) spirits, (d) soft drinks, (e) flowers, (f) laundry, (g) porterage, (h) china, (i) cutlery and (j) venue hire since May 2010.

Richard Benyon: Core DEFRA does not record expenditure in relation to hospitality under the headings requested. The information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost and time.

Pay

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was paid in (a) year end and (b) in-year bonuses to officials in his Department in each of the last two years.

Richard Benyon: The total amount paid to core DEFRA staff in non-consolidated performance payments for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 financial years is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 £ 
			 Financial year In year amount End year amount 
			 2010-11 202,020 1,443,483 
			 2011-12 211,076 1,125,252

Rivers: Repairs and Maintenance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Environment Agency has spent on maintenance of water courses in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The Environment Agency has assessed that the following amounts were allocated to the maintenance of water courses in each of the last five years:
	
		
			 Maintenance of watercourses 
			  £ million 
			 2008-09 68 
			 2009-10 68 
			 2010-11 59 
			 2011-12 53 
			 2012-13 58

Senior Civil Servants

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what proportion of senior civil servants have left (a) his Department and (b) each of the public bodies for which he is responsible since May 2010; what the rate of turnover of senior civil servants has been in (i) his Department and (ii) each such body since May 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Between 1 May 2010 and 30 November 2012, 72 senior civil servants (SCS) have left core DEFRA and its executive agencies. This represents 42% of SCS in post on 30 April 2010.
	The annualised rate of turnover of SCS during this period was 18%. Turnover is calculated from the number of leavers and the average staff in post over the period. It takes no account of whether staff were replaced or whether posts were abolished.
	A breakdown by core DEFRA and each of the agencies is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of leavers Leavers as proportion of SCS in post on 30 April 2010 (%) Annualised turnover (%) 
			 Core DEFRA 54 39 18 
			 Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency 7 58 27 
			 Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science 2 50 22 
			 Food and Environment Research Agency 1 20 7 
			 Rural Payments Agency 6 86 20 
			 Veterinary Medicines Directorate 2 67 26 
			 Core DEFRA and agencies 72 42 18

Staff

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) veterinary officers and veterinary inspectors, (b) animal health officers and (c) dairy hygiene inspectors were employed by his Department in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The following tables are a snapshot of employment at 31 March 2011 and 31 March 2012:
	
		
			 31 March 2011 
			 Title Sum of full-time equivalent Sum of headcount 
			 Veterinary officers and veterinary inspectors 357.11 387 
			 Animal health officer 194.12 204 
			 Dairy hygiene inspector 19..04 21 
			 Total 570.27 612 
		
	
	
		
			 31 March 2012 
			 Title Sum of full-time equivalent Sum of headcount 
			 Veterinary officers and veterinary inspectors 321.8 347 
			 Animal health officer 179.85 192 
			 Dairy hygiene inspector 1.5 2 
			 Total: 503.15 541 
		
	
	There were 11 inspectors employed in 2010-11 and 12 inspectors employed in 2011-12 by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) who were trained to do dairy hygiene inspections as part of the cross-compliance requirements. These inspectors also undertook other inspections as well as dairy hygiene ones as part of their duties.

Whales: Conservation

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to curtail international whaling;
	(2)  what his objectives are in respect of international whaling.

Richard Benyon: The UK Government strongly oppose all types of whaling other than some limited whaling by indigenous people to meet defined subsistence needs. Our key objective is to ensure that the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) moratorium on commercial whaling is maintained. I attended this year's IWC meeting in July to demonstrate our further aim to improve the conservation and welfare of whales and our support for the moratorium. We will continue to support proposals which bring all whaling under IWC control and an end to so called ‘scientific’ whaling.
	I can assure you that the Government will continue to make our opposition to whaling known at every appropriate opportunity.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Civil Disorder

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment she has made of the recent violence in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Penning: Recent days have witnessed attacks on police and property, and threats made to elected politicians in Northern Ireland. This Government fully support the PSNI in its efforts to tackle this threat and make communities safer, and both my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and I will continue to work closely with the Chief Constable and the Minister of Justice.
	There can be no excuse or justification for this thuggish and lawless behaviour. It is anti-democratic and anti-British.

Civil Disorder

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether (a) attacks on the houses of public representatives and (b) threats to public representatives in Northern Ireland are categorised by the Government as a policing issue or a matter of national security.

Michael Penning: Any attack or threat made against a public representative, irrespective of its classification, is wrong and must be condemned in the strongest possible way. The PSNI works very hard to protect all communities from any threat of attack or violence. They continue to have the unfaltering support of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs Villiers), and me.

Civil Disorder

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment she has made of the involvement of Loyalist paramilitaries in the recent violence in Northern Ireland.

Michael Penning: My right hon. Friend Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and I continue to monitor the situation in Northern Ireland closely and have been in regular contact with the Chief Constable. The Police Service of Northern Ireland believes that individuals associated with members of loyalist paramilitary organisations locally have been involved in acts of violence.
	The police continue to gather evidence around the recent disorder and will be working to bring all those who participated in violence to justice.

Civil Disorder

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment she has made of the level of resources provided by the UK Government to enable the Police Service of Northern Ireland to deal with threats to national security.

Michael Penning: PSNI received an additional £200 million funding from this Government to tackle the threat. It is clear that this money has been essential to drive down the threat and ensure that PSNI has the resources that it needs to protect the people of Northern Ireland.
	This Government has made clear that it will stand by Northern Ireland and this is reflected in the exceptional funding provided.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Embassies

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) unpaid and (b) expense-only internships there have been in British Embassies and High Commissions in the last 12 months.

Alistair Burt: All internship and work experience programmes run at British Diplomatic Missions overseas are arranged locally. We do not hold records of these centrally. Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) guidance makes clear that appointments should be made in accordance with local law and the generality of local practice, but should also follow the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles.

Embassies

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much UK embassies abroad have spent on hospitality in the last 12 months.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) undertakes a wide range of activities to establish and maintain contacts throughout its network of over 260 overseas posts. This includes meetings and events hosted for political and business delegations (including those in support of UK Trade and Industry) to promote British interests overseas.
	For the period December 2011 to November 2012 inclusive, FCO expenditure on hospitality undertaken at our posts was £6,413,269. Any such spending is undertaken for business reasons, and expenditure on hospitality is kept under rigorous scrutiny to ensure value for money and effectiveness and is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity, Propriety and Value for Money.

Flowers

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has spent on (a) cut flowers and (b) pot plants since May 2010.

David Lidington: In relation to the period between May 2010 and March 2012, I refer the hon. Member my answer of 26 March 2012, Official Report, column 978W.
	An additional expenditure of £12,401 was made from March 2012-November 2012 on cut flowers, much of which resulted from Jubilee and Olympic related events.
	Government Hospitality—a section within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) Protocol Department—provides corporate hospitality services for the whole of Government, at Lancaster House, the FCO Fine Rooms, 1 Carlton Gardens and 10 Downing street, among other venues. It is used both for Government business hospitality and commercial hire to fee paying private clients. It hosts over 200 events each year. Government Hospitality provides semi-permanent plant displays in public areas, decorative arrangements for weekly display and individual table arrangements for lunches and dinners. Fresh flowers are only used when it is appropriate and necessary. Decisions are made on an event-by-event basis and costs are carefully monitored to ensure value for money. Much of this expenditure is reimbursed by revenues generated by the events.
	There is no direct cost to the FCO for pot plants as this is included in the fixed-price element of a contract with our supplier and included in the figures given.

Macedonia

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of Macedonia's application for accession to the EU.

David Lidington: The UK is a firm supporter of Macedonia's bid to join the EU, once it meets all the necessary criteria. We welcomed the European Commission's latest progress report in October 2012, including its fourth successive recommendation that the EU open accession negotiations with Macedonia. We welcome the progress Macedonia has made on its reform efforts under the High Level Accession Dialogue and urge the Macedonian Government to continue with these reforms.
	On 11 December 2012, the EU General Affairs Council sent a clear signal on Macedonia's EU path and concluded that it will revisit the decision whether to open accession negotiations under the next presidency, on the basis of a report by the European Commission in spring. This report will take into account further progress on the High Level Accession Dialogue, as well as steps taken to promote Good Neighbourly Relations and steps taken to seek a solution to the name issue dispute with Greece. We urge both sides to engage constructively to find a solution to the name issue as soon as possible. We look forward to discussing the possible opening of accession negotiations in the first half of next year.

Official Hospitality

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has spent for hospitality purposes on (a) Champagne, (b) wines, (c) spirits, (d) soft drinks, (e) flowers, (f) laundry, (g) porterage, (h) china, (i) cutlery and (j) venue hire since May 2010.

David Lidington: This information is not held centrally and is available only at disproportionate cost. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office undertakes a wide range of activities to establish and maintain contacts throughout its network of over 250 overseas posts as well as diplomatic activity in the UK to promote and defend British interests. Any such spending is undertaken for business reasons, and expenditure on business hospitality is kept under rigorous scrutiny to ensure value for money and effectiveness and is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity, Propriety and Value for Money.

Sickness Absence

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 9 November 2012, Official Report, column 814W, on sick leave, what assessment he has made of the difference in the proportion of working days lost due to ill health between officers at A1 grade and at SCS grade; and what assessment he has made of the use of mindfulness-based therapies in reducing the proportion of working days lost in his Department.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) takes a more rigorous approach to monitoring and reporting sick absence. The overall average sick absence rate (average working days lost—AWDL) for all grades was 4.3 days as at 31 March 2012. This is below the civil service wide average of 7.6 days, putting the Department sixth out of 29 Departments surveyed. The total number of sick days and AWDL across the FCO are both down year-on-year.
	No formal assessment has been made of the difference in the proportion of working days lost due to ill health between officers at A1 grade and at senior civil service (SCS) grade. SCS figures compare favourably to Al (junior administrative staff) figures. However these figures are distorted because of a few instances of long term sick absence which have dramatically affected the statistics and in the context of—falling numbers in the grade as a result of natural reduction over the same period.
	The FCO has many measures in place to tackle sick absence, supporting both officers and their managers. All long-term absences are actively managed and our health and welfare team, along with occupational health and disability support teams.
	The FCO offers staff access to a Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) under a DEFRA-sponsored cross-government framework.

Turks and Caicos Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any plans to visit the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Mark Simmonds: I visited the Turks and Caicos Islands from 26 to 28 November, my first visit to the Territory as the responsible Minister. I met with Premier Rufus Ewing. the Cabinet, the Leader of the Opposition, and House of Assembly Members. I also met with a range of religious, civic and businesses figures.

Vietnam

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made any representations to the Government of Vietnam regarding the possible closure of the Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre.

Hugo Swire: The British embassy in Hanoi is aware of the threat of closure of the rescue centre. Our Chargé d’Affaires, in the ambassador's absence, joined 10 other ambassadors in writing to the Prime Minister of Vietnam, on 12 October, to express our concerns. The same group of ambassadors wrote to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural development in 2009 to voice serious concerns about bear farming in Vietnam.
	The British ambassador together with approximately 30 of his staff and their families, visited the centre on 20 October to show their support for the work being done by Animals Asia to care for the 104 Moon and Sun Bears currently at the centre.

TREASURY

Accounting Standards

Steven Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Financial Stability Report published by the Bank of England in November 2012, what recent assessment he has made of accounting standards which allow the overvaluing of bank assets; and if he will review his current policy on the use of such accounting standards by UK banks.

Greg Clark: holding answer 10 December 2012
	The Financial Stability Report (FSR) is published twice a year under the guidance of the interim Financial Policy Committee which brings together senior officials from the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority. The FSR covers the Committee's assessment of the outlook for the stability and resilience of the financial sector at the time of preparation of the Report, and the policy actions it advises to reduce and mitigate risks to stability.
	HMT is responsible for the overall institutional structure of financial regulation and the legislation which governs it and has no operational responsibility for the activities of the FSA and the Bank.
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) leads on accounting policy which is in the process of being revised internationally.

Business: Loans

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in (a) Liverpool, (b) Manchester, (c) Newcastle, (d) Sheffield, (e) Leeds, (f) Sunderland, (g) Bristol, (h) Birmingham, (i) Southampton, (j) Brighton, (k) Canterbury and (l) Chelmsford have received funding from the Funding for Lending scheme to date; and how much he estimates each will receive in 2013.

Greg Clark: holding answer 11 December 2012
	The Funding for Lending Scheme is aimed at boosting bank lending to households and businesses in aggregate across the UK. The Bank of England is publishing net lending data for each institution that has signed up to the scheme. Between July and September this year banks participating in the Funding for Lending Scheme have increased their net lending by £0.5 billion.

Child Benefit

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the likely average financial effect for those families who will be affected by the high income child benefit charge scheduled to take effect in 2013.

David Gauke: The estimated impact for the high income child benefit charge on individuals and households was published in the Tax Information and Impact Note at Budget 2012.
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/tiin-0620.pdf

Corporation Tax: Football

Gerry Sutcliffe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  for what reasons football clubs are allowed to defer corporation tax payment;
	(2)  how much tax revenue the Exchequer has foregone due to football and rugby clubs going into administration in the last two years.

David Gauke: HMRC treats football clubs as it would any other business. HMRC recognises that viable businesses may sometimes face temporary difficulties which make it impossible to do so, and provided appropriate conditions are met, it will allow customers more time to pay their tax. Each customer will have unique set of circumstances and every case is considered on its own merits.
	Each insolvency event is different and the amounts of debt involved vary considerably so it is not possible to calculate how much money HMRC has lost as a result of rugby or football club administrations in the last two years. Clubs that have gone into administration may then enter a Compulsory Voluntary Arrangement and/or liquidation, both of which can take many years to achieve a final return to creditors. It is only once all insolvency procedures have concluded that the tax foregone is known.

Corporation Tax: Northern Ireland

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  when he expects to make a decision on the report of the Ministerial Working Group on the devolution of corporation tax to Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the potential devolution of corporation tax to Northern Ireland.

David Gauke: The Joint Ministerial Working Group on rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy considered a number of issues relating to the potential devolution of corporation tax powers.
	These include the design of a potential devolved tax regime; the impacts on the economy and business; and the potential costs to the block grant from a reduction in the corporation tax rate in Northern Ireland.
	The group has reported its findings on these issues to the Prime Minister. A decision on this report will be made in due course.

European Banking Authority

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer who the British nominees to the European Banking Authority are.

Greg Clark: holding answer 10 December 2012
	Andrew Bailey is the UK member of the European Banking Authority's board of supervisors. He is also a member of the authority's management board.

Pensions: Tax Allowances

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of taxpayers that would be eligible for an annual pension tax relief allowance of (a) £35,000, (b) £30,000 and (c) £25,000.

Sajid Javid: Available information to accompany the Chancellor's autumn statement announcement of 5 December 2012, Official Report, columns 871-82, that from 2014-15 tax relief will be limited to the first £40,000 of an individual's annual pension contributions can be found in the accompanying Tax Impact and Information Note published on 11 December 2012, and available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/tiin/2012/tiin1046-1048.htm

Taxation

Michael Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Autumn Statement of 5 December 2012, Official Report, columns 871-82, what elements comprise the additional £7 billion in tax due which is to be collected; over what period of time the additional yield will be collected; and how much of that yield he expects to collect in each year.

David Gauke: Reinvestment of £917 million into HMRC was announced in the 2010 spending review and covers this spending review period. It will bring in additional revenues of £4 billion this year, £5 billion in 2013-14, and £7 billion in 2014-15.
	In 2014-15 we expect this re-investment to bring in around £4 billion from evasion among small businesses; £1 billion from tax avoidance and evasion among large business and wealthy individuals; £1 billion for tackling organised crime; and around £1 billion of extra debt HMRC collected. This is separate from the new investment into further tackling avoidance and evasion announced on 5 December that HMRC expects to bring in an additional £2 billion in 2014-15.

Taxation: Football

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue the Exchequer received from Premier League Football Clubs in the last year for which figures are available.

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of sums owed to the Exchequer by football clubs in the Premier League at the end of (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11 and (d) 2011-12;
	(2)  how much tax was paid to HM Revenue and Customs by Premier League football clubs in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11 and (d) 2011-12;
	(3)  how much in total Premier League football clubs owe HM Revenue and Customs.

David Gauke: HMRC is under a strict, statutory, duty of confidentiality and cannot comment on the tax affairs of individual businesses.

UK Membership of EU

Peter Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the net cost of UK membership of the EU in (a) the present Parliament and (b) the last Parliament.

Greg Clark: holding answer 10 December 2012
	Figures for the UK's net contribution to the EU over the period 2005-06 to 2011-12 were published in Table 3c (page 17) of ‘European Union Finances 2012’ (Cm 8405), a copy of which can be found in the House Library, and also available online at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/eu_finances_2012.pdf
	Forecasts of contributions to the EU were published by the OBR on 5 December 2012. This can be found in table 2.19 of ‘Economic and Fiscal Outlook Supplementary Tables’ at:
	http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-december-2012/

Welfare Tax Credits

Guto Bebb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to paragraph 1.169 of the Autumn Statement, what the estimated cost is of changing the information technology to allow debt from an individual's old tax credit award to be recovered through their current tax credit award.

Sajid Javid: HMRC is not able to disclose this information since it is commercially sensitive.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices: Ethnic Groups

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to increase the number of apprentices from an ethnic minority background.

Matthew Hancock: I am keen to increase diversity within apprenticeships because I am clear that apprenticeships provide a great opportunity for people from all backgrounds to develop valuable knowledge and skills. Provisional data for the 2011/12 academic year show that 9.8% of people starting an apprenticeship described themselves as having a black, Asian or minority ethnic background but there is an opportunity to make apprenticeships a more attractive option for those who have not yet engaged with the programme.
	The National Apprenticeship Service recently published an evaluation of 16 Diversity in Apprenticeships Pilots which explored local initiatives to increase the accessibility of apprenticeships. One pilot based in Oldham, Leicester and Bradford focused on encouraging more young people from black, Asian and other minority groups to become apprentices. The National Apprenticeship Service is currently exploring ways to implement key lessons from the pilots. The evaluation can be found on the National Apprenticeship Service website:
	http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/Partners/Policy/Diversity-Pilots.aspx
	The National Apprenticeship Service has recently commissioned research to explore apprenticeships and engagement with people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Apprentices: Worcestershire

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeships have been created in (a) Worcestershire and (b) Redditch since the start of the Government apprenticeship scheme.

Matthew Hancock: Information on the number of apprenticeship starts in Worcestershire local education authority and Redditch parliamentary constituency are published in a supplementary table to a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR):
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/87E140BF-810D-4C48-A5C1-9C8B84B46117/0/October2012_Apprenticeship_Starts.xls
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_supplementary_tables/Apprenticeship_sfr_supplementary_tables/
	The latest SFR was published on 11 October 2012:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current

Conditions of Employment

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of civil servants in his Department have requested (a) part-time, (b) job-share or (c) other flexible working arrangements in each of the last five years; and how many such requests were granted.

Jo Swinson: holding answer 10 December 2012
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was created on Friday 5 June 2009 from the merger of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) which ceased to exist from that date.
	Records are not held centrally for the predecessor Departments, or within BIS, about requests made to work flexibly or to change working hours or arrangements. However the 2011 People Survey results showed that 59% of employees feel they
	“achieve a good balance between their work life and their private life”.

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which of the educational exceptions contained in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 are applicable to educational uses of digital images of designs.

Jo Swinson: The exceptions in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 only relate to copyright works. If a design is also protected by copyright, then the key exceptions applicable to educational uses of digital images for such works are those contained in sections: 29 (research and private study); 30 (criticism and review); and 32 (things done for purposes of instruction or examination). Separate provisions relating to the use of designs in teaching can be found in the Registered Designs Act 1949.

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make an assessment on the potential effects of the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 on educational establishments and educators (a) generally and (b) who teach design and design history.

Jo Swinson: The Government have no plans to assess the potential effects on educational establishments and educators and those who teach design and design history but will consult on transitional provisions.

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the proposed repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 will be subject to the Government's one-in, one-out policy.

Jo Swinson: This measure is not subject to the Government's One-In One-Out policy as it brings UK legislation into scope with EU legislation. All EU regulation is out of scope of "One-In One-Out".

Debts: Advisory Services

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had on developing a debt management plan protocol; and when such a protocol is likely to be implemented.

Jo Swinson: On 21 November I met with the group from all sides of this industry that have been working with officials on a voluntary code strong enough to take standards in the industry over those required by the Office of Fair Trading. Any protocol that results from this work should be seen as a first step in the process to improve the landscape for consumers in the consumer credit environment.

Further Education: Inspections

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether it is a requirement for education provision for adults to be inspected as part of an inspection of a further education college.

Matthew Hancock: As part of the Education and Inspections Act 2006, it is a requirement for the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) to inspect the whole further education provision of a further education college. This includes provision for 14 to 16, 16 to 18 and 19+ learners where applicable. Ofsted inspects further education colleges to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the provision of education and training in meeting the needs of its learners as a whole.

Graduates: Employment

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students who had attended universities in Birmingham have gone on to find work within one year of leaving their respective institutions in each of the last five academic years.

David Willetts: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects data on the destinations of graduates six months after qualifying through the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey. The proportions of UK and other EU first degree graduates in work six months after leaving Higher Education Institutions in Birmingham in the academic years 2006/07 to 2010/11 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Full-time first degree graduates(1) employed(2) six months after leaving, UK Higher Education Institutions, academic years 2006/07 to 2010/11 
			  Proportion in work (percentage) 
			 Higher Education Institution 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 
			 Aston University 81 76 73 74 76 
			 University of Birmingham 67 69 64 65 69 
			 Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies 75 83 68 76 71 
			 University of Central England in Birmingham 76 76 72 70 73 
			 Newman College of Higher Education 79 77 69 78 73 
			 UK total 72 70 67 70 71 
			 (1) Covers first degree graduates domiciled in the UK and other EU countries prior to their course. (2) Covers graduates employed in full-time, part-time and voluntary work. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) Survey

Higher Education: Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding the Higher Education Funding Council allocated for capital investment (a) in total at all universities in England, (b) per individual university in London and (c) per individual university in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The following table contains the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) capital allocations including the teaching capital investment fund (TCIF) and the research capital investment fund (RCIF) by English institution in each of the financial years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13, and includes the totals allocated in each of those years to all English higher education institutions.
	
		
			 Capital investment split by individual HEI 
			  Financial year 
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Anglia Ruskin University 2,658,195 539,877 337,564 
			 Aston University 7,928,352 1,179,771 585,187 
			 University of Bath 11,003,245 3,042,291 1,883,362 
			 Bath Spa University 1,092,656 244,615 164,506 
			 University of Bedfordshire 565,362 322,976 331,738 
			 Birkbeck College 418,117 1,057,674 789,532 
			 University of Birmingham 10,101,688 7,141,501 4,966,271 
			 Birmingham City University 2,947,803 701,652 448,085 
			 University College Birmingham 592,144 118,704 74,774 
			 Bishop Grosseteste University College, Lincoln 440 37,334 47,857 
			 University of Bolton 0 203,524 225,409 
			 Arts Institute at Bournemouth 0 38,492 62,803 
			 Bournemouth University 2,393,652 604,151 400,075 
			 University of Bradford 0 210,194 1,290,015 
			 University of Brighton 3,916,412 1,052,650 706,182 
			 University of Bristol 11,460,356 7,455,201 5,130,388 
			 Brunel University 3,700,499 1,531,350 1,045,705 
			 Buckinghamshire New University 0 114,217 156,314 
			 University of Cambridge 33,661,918 17,724,592 12,403,411 
			 Institute of Cancer Research 4,817,705 2,209,190 1,543,242 
			 Canterbury Christ Church University 45,535 218,748 289,322 
			 University of Central Lancashire 3,990,327 1,089,754 741,466 
			 Royal Central School of Speech and Drama 0 18,375 29,981 
			 University of Chester 8,608 206,283 211,403 
			 University of Chichester 2,714,402 1,006,021 200,928 
			 City University, London 0 830,507 676,553 
			 Courtauld Institute of Art 214,655 21,226 59,308 
			 Coventry University 1,370,785 627,019 518,688 
			 Cranfield University 3,520,671 2,340,484 1,614,614 
			 University College for the Creative Arts 3,990,609 486,310 257,061 
			 University of Cumbria 0 117,727 192,079 
			 Conservatoire for Dance and Drama 165,238 20,336 85,025 
			 De Montfort University 3,697,406 1,057,187 733,876 
			 University of Derby 689,030 389,145 273,185 
			 University of Durham 4,220,374 3,513,772 2,645,520 
			 University of East Anglia (including Uni Campus Suffolk) 3,224,213 2,608,233 1,970,987 
			 University of East London 2,695,539 624,569 390,105 
			 Edge Hill University 680,050 257,559 266,424 
			 Institute of Education 2,977,073 1,377,876 952,773 
			 University of Essex 2,651,974 1,515,619 1,096,069 
			 University of Exeter 4,031,860 2,521,711 1,869,583 
			 University College Falmouth (including Dartington CA) 714,386 156,576 102,647 
			 University of Gloucestershire 1,414,015 321,614 206,785 
			 Goldsmiths College, University of London 0 686,636 559,057 
			 University of Greenwich 3,929,171 963,277 648,077 
			 Guildhall School of Music & Drama 139,584 28,700 18,799 
			 Harper Adams University College 193,902 114,597 122,865 
			 University of Hertfordshire 1,393,032 835,022 734,561 
			 Heythrop College 284,294 34,987 10,028 
			 University of Huddersfield 1,563,127 572,750 503,861 
			 University of Hull 3,997,907 1,197,239 801,906 
			 Imperial College London 20,803,424 16,136,670 11,384,212 
		
	
	
		
			 Keele University 1,510,009 830,509 692,496 
			 University of Kent 4,296,674 1,718,906 1,185,217 
			 King's College London 12,388,711 7,917,525 5,714,879 
			 Kingston University 3,969,378 989,655 653,244 
			 Lancaster University 851,704 2,301,986 1,654,189 
			 University of Leeds 12,263,246 8,040,025 5,579,588 
			 Leeds Metropolitan University 3,946,381 846,579 527,217 
			 Leeds College of Art 0 30,414 49,623 
			 Leeds College of Music 53,467 6,580 0 
			 Leeds Trinity & All Saints 571,215 108,569 62,439 
			 University of Leicester 8,894,290 3,524,833 2,419,042 
			 University of Lincoln 741,473 329,622 310,834 
			 University of Liverpool 13,316,975 3,972,855 6,217,866 
			 Liverpool Hope University 18,751 89,841 146,581 
			 Liverpool John Moores University 2,062,412 1,042,771 903,924 
			 Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts 84,876 21,517 18,065 
			 University of the Arts London 3,553,952 803,172 513,708 
			 University of London 81,328 51,411 141,222 
			 London Business School 119,290 253,488 167,121 
			 London School of Economics and Political Science 0 1,515,220 1,080,283 
			 London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine 0 678,065 2,930,622 
			 London Metropolitan University 9,248,572 1,447,698 523,125 
			 London South Bank University 2,983,487 757,629 499,896 
			 Loughborough University 6,159,081 2,962,612 2,097,573 
			 University of Manchester 24,252,748 13,739,940 9,607,548 
			 Manchester Metropolitan University 1,163,464 851,611 938,632 
			 Middlesex University 0 466,134 517,409 
			 University of Newcastle upon Tyne 7,152,303 5,264,195 3,946,751 
			 Newman University College 0 86,386 66,446 
			 University of Northampton 855,737 279,888 251,453 
			 University of Northumbria at Newcastle 467,203 653,317 618,647 
			 Norwich School of Art & Design 0 23,768 38,780 
			 University of Nottingham 14,756,995 7,483,832 5,204,692 
			 Nottingham Trent University 0 663,225 741,507 
			 Open University 2,900,755 2,478,714 1,996,290 
			 School of Oriental and African Studies 3,588,826 492,278 304,371 
			 University of Oxford 0 18,345,786 13,030,283 
			 Oxford Brookes University 3,029,742 836,384 553,617 
			 School of Pharmacy 421,387 394,569 0 
			 University of Plymouth 2,793,730 1,381,526 1,153,601 
			 University College Plymouth St Mark & St John 0 32,318 52,728 
			 University of Portsmouth 3,873,780 1,046,534 724,102 
			 Queen Mary, University of London 9,687,218 4,601,302 3,186,479 
			 Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication 0 30,576 49,886 
			 University of Reading 0 746,437 1,836,524 
			 Roehampton University 1,279,654 405,758 292,988 
			 Rose Bruford College 195,718 37,273 21,514 
			 Royal Academy of Music 47,552 37,173 38,014 
			 Royal Agricultural College 903,099 111,143 32,470 
			 Royal College of Art 1,041,031 292,557 185,228 
			 Royal College of Music 0 43,173 44,778 
			 Royal Holloway, University of London 1,885,777 1,408,428 1,019,899 
			 Royal Northern College of Music 260,875 29,725 50,653 
			 Royal Veterinary College 2,113,464 789,344 534,323 
			 St George's Hospital Medical School 4,794,986 887,043 691,333 
			 St Mary's University College 658,437 138,678 94,054 
			 University of Salford 3,983,542 1,267,821 869,615 
			 University of Sheffield 15,357,080 7,466,487 5,138,780 
			 Sheffield Hallam University 4,951,435 1,429,950 966,592 
			 University of Southampton 12,957,387 6,671,892 4,694,008 
			 Southampton Solent University 2,034,453 403,892 256,661 
			 Staffordshire University 2,623,455 317,143 608,425 
			 University of Sunderland 2,104,865 593,377 410,213 
		
	
	
		
			 University of Surrey 1,434,540 2,158,414 1,558,839 
			 University of Sussex 6,981,194 2,354,771 1,776,102 
			 University of Teesside 3,087,772 749,108 472,334 
			 Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance 28,607,351 15,204,385 10,924,932 
			 University College London 11,566,329 5,455,960 3,795,431 
			 University of Warwick 1,041,154 988,615 806,639 
			 University of the West of England, Bristol 191,380 308,276 546,842 
			 University of West London 2,390,727 294,222 247,927 
			 University of Westminster 936,873 645,179 661,081 
			 University of Winchester 578,343 194,878 138,833 
			 University of Wolverhampton 3,140,838 791,776 525,107 
			 University of Worcester 624,560 190,573 180,961 
			 Writtle College 0 0 50,301 
			 University of York 1,621,914 3,799,252 2,672,670 
			 York St John University 939,136 169,911 91,117 
			     
			 Capital investment at all universities in England 454,973,816 243,202,864 182,067,332 
		
	
	The following table contains the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) capital allocations that include the teaching capital investment fund (TCIF) and the research capital investment fund (RCIF) to Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in London in each of the financial years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13.
	
		
			 Capital investment at London HEIs 
			  Financial year 
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Birkbeck College 418,117 1,057,674 789,532 
			 Brunel University 3,700,499 1,531,350 1,045,705 
			 Institute of Cancer Research 4,817,705 2,209,190 1,543,242 
			 Royal Central School of Speech and Drama 0 18,375 29,981 
			 City University, London 0 830,507 676,553 
			 Courtauld Institute of Art 214,655 21,226 59,308 
			 Conservatoire for Dance and Drama 165,238 20,336 85,025 
			 University of East London 2,695,539 624,569 390,105 
			 Institute of Education 2,977,073 1,377,876 952,773 
			 Goldsmiths College, University of London 0 686,636 559,057 
			 University of Greenwich 3,929,171 963,277 648,077 
			 Guildhall School of Music & Drama 139,584 28,700 18,799 
			 Heythrop College 284,294 34,987 10,028 
			 Imperial College London 20,803,424 16,136,670 11,384,212 
			 King's College London 12,388,711 7,917,525 5,714,879 
			 Kingston University 3,969,378 989,655 653,244 
			 University of the Arts London 3,553,952 803,172 513,708 
			 University of London 81,328 51,411 141,222 
			 London Business School 119,290 253,488 167,121 
			 London School of Economics and Political Science 0 1,515,220 1,080,283 
			 London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine 0 678,065 2,930,622 
			 London Metropolitan University 9,248,572 1,447,698 523,125 
			 London South Bank University 2,983,487 757,629 499,896 
			 Middlesex University 0 466,134 517,409 
			 School of Oriental and African Studies 3,588,826 492,278 304,371 
			 School of Pharmacy 421,387 394,569 0 
			 Queen Mary, University of London 9,687,218 4,601,302 3,186,479 
			 Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication 0 30,576 49,886 
			 Roehampton University 1,279,654 405,758 292,988 
			 Rose Bruford College 195,718 37,273 21,514 
			 Royal Academy of Music 47,552 37,173 38,014 
			 Royal College of Art 1,041,031 292,557 185,228 
			 Royal College of Music 0 43,173 44,778 
			 Royal Holloway, University of London 1,885,777 1,408,428 1,019,899 
			 Royal Veterinary College 2,113,464 789,344 534,323 
			 St George's Hospital Medical School 4,794,986 887,043 691,333 
		
	
	
		
			 St Mary's University College 658,437 138,678 94,054 
			 Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance 28,607,351 15,204,385 10,924,932 
			 University College London 11,566,329 5,455,960 3,795,431 
			 University of West London 2,390,727 294,222 247,927 
			 University of Westminster 936,873 645,179 661,081 
			     
			 Total 141,705,347 71,579,268 53,026,144 
		
	
	HEFCE is also responsible for administering the UK Research Partnership Investment Fund, through which £220 million of research capital has so far been allocated to 14 projects over the period 2012-15. Higher education institutes across the UK also benefit from research capital provided as part of grant and programme funding from the research councils.

Manufacturing Industries

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many bids were received to round one of the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative.

Michael Fallon: 32 bids were received in Round One of the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative with a total funding ask of over £90 million.

Manufacturing Industries

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills by what date successful bidders to round one of the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative will receive the funds.

Michael Fallon: We expect that the Round One projects which have already successfully completed due diligence will begin drawing down their funding by the end of this month. The remainder can expect to receive their funding next year as soon as they have satisfied the due diligence requirements.

Manufacturing Industries

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what (a) benchmarks and (b) targets he has set for completion of due diligence by successful bidders to round one of the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative.

Michael Fallon: The due diligence process is being managed by Finance Birmingham on behalf of Birmingham city council, who are the accountable authority. Due diligence has been completed or is in progress for the majority of successful Round One projects. In those instances where successful applicants have yet to provide their agreement for due diligence to begin, Finance Birmingham have given them until the end of this month to sign the necessary documentation or risk losing their funding allocation.

Sunday Trading

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what recent research his Department (a) has conducted and (b) plans to conduct on the likely effect on shops of under 3,000 square feet of changes to the Sunday Trading Act 1994; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the rights of shop workers who have a conscientious objection to working on a Sunday; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what representations he has received on Sunday trading from (a) trades unions, (b) retail organisations and (c) other groups since September 2012; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what plans he has to produce a post-legislative report on the operation of the Sunday Trading (London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games) Act 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: The Government have consistently stated that the relaxation of Sunday trading regulations during the Olympic period was a temporary measure and that there are no plans permanently to relax these restrictions. If the Government should ever decide to look at a permanent relaxation of these regulations then a full impact assessment, including the impact on small shops, would be carried out.
	In terms of gathering evidence about the effects of the temporary relaxation, I refer to the answer given by the Minister of State, the right hon. Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon), to the hon. Member for Upper Bann (David Simpson), on 11 September 2012, Official Report, column 215W. In the first half of the deregulatory period during the Olympics most of the large retailers who responded to the Department's request for information reported increases in sales compared to Sundays before deregulation, although one reported no change. The increases varied from small to significant. In the second half of the period during the Paralympics a few large retailers reported a small increase in sales.
	The ONS made an analysis of small retailers in Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Portsmouth and Liverpool who reported their sales during the deregulatory period (the Office for National Statistics will be publishing this analysis shortly). The five towns and cities were chosen as large urban areas without significant Olympic events. In summary, changes in sales over the period comparing August with June 2012 varied by size of small retailer with the larger ones reporting increased sales while smaller ones saw decreased sales:
	Retailers with turnover between £500,000 and £1 million reported an increase in revenue of 0.4%.
	Retailers with turnover between £250,000 and £500,000 reported a decrease in revenue of 5.8%.
	The very smallest retailers with annual turnover of less than £250,000 reported an average fall in revenue of 2%.
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has received 91 representations on Sunday trading since September 2012. I regret that further information is not available in the form requested and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

Written Questions

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to how many and what proportion of questions for written answer on a named day his Department had not provided a substantive written answer by the day named in each of the last 12 months.

Jo Swinson: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			 Month completed Total number of named day questions answered Total number without a substantive reply Proportion of named day question without a substantive reply (percentage) 
			 December 2011 91 23 25 
			 January 2012 143 14 10 
			 February 2012 127 34 27 
			 March 2012 121 38 31 
			 April 2012 92 36 39 
			 May 2012 66 16 24 
			 June 2012 90 31 34 
			 July 2012 100 29 29 
			 September 2012 81 32 40 
			 October 2012 104 42 40 
			 November 2012 120 34 28 
			 Total 1,135 329 29 
		
	
	The Government are committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the current Session. Statistics relating to performance for the 2010-12 Parliamentary Session are available on the Parliament website as follows
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/P35_Memorandum_Leader_of_the_House_ Monitoring_PQs.pdf

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Partnerships: Ceremonies

Therese Coffey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many civil partnerships have taken place in places of worship in the last 12 months.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated December 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your request on how many civil partnerships have taken place in places of worship in the last 12 months. (133427)
	The Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Approved Premises) (Amendment) Regulations 2011, which allowed civil partnerships to take place on religious premises, came into effect on 5 December 2011.
	No civil partnerships took place on religious premises between 5 and 31 December 2011. Civil partnership statistics for 2012 are not yet available. They are due for publication in Summer 2013.